The book of Exodus tells that there arose in Egypt a pharaoh who knew not Joseph. The new ruler was unaware of Joseph’s and the Hebrews’ contributions to the nation.
Three millennia later, the generation that witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II has passed; for their children, Israel’s struggle for survival and Zionism became their new religion, the cause for many.
Today, their grandchildren, Gen Z, are coming of age knowing a muscular, swaggering nuclear-armed Israel led by ultra-nationalist and theocratic extremists. The emotional ties of generations are unraveling.
The enormous well of sympathy and support following the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel has been obscured by the smoke of a massive bombing campaign, in which the Hamas Health Ministry accuses Israel of killing tens of thousands, including mostly innocent Palestinian civilians. Inside Israel, deep divisions have erupted over the nation’s war priorities – bringing home the hostages or destroying Hamas.
Conflicting goals
The country is led by the most extreme government in its history, one that is more focused on war and punishment than rescue and humanitarian concerns. Some in the government want to reoccupy Gaza and drive out the inhabitants; many seem to view this as a war of vengeance. They’re the ones who say the Palestinian chant “From the river to the sea” is genocidal, although they echo that sentiment – but with different ideas about who stays and who goes.
THE US-Israel bilateral relationship has not seen such strains since the 1956 Sinai war and the clashes between the George H. W. Bush administration and Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir in 1991, when the two leaders were not speaking to each other.
Shamir was seen to have failed in his stewardship of his country’s relationship with its top ally, and Israeli voters tossed him out the next chance they had. Polls show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could face the same fate for leadership failures that many feel led to October 7.
It is no secret that President Joe Biden has lost confidence in Netanyahu. He never had much to begin with, once inscribing a picture with: “I don’t agree with a damn thing you say.”
Biden's increasing frustration
Biden, who calls himself a Zionist, has a 40+ year record as a staunch supporter of Israel and has known Netanyahu most of that time. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a senior Democratic leader in the House of Representatives and a close Biden confidant, said this week after an Oval Office meeting that Netanyahu’s “leadership has not been good for Israel” and indicated that the president feels the same.
Biden has become increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu’s handling of the war, his unresponsiveness to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, his lack of truthfulness, and his refusal to address “day after” issues. He is said to feel that Netanyahu has put his own political survival ahead of the national interest in pursuing a strategy more focused on his keeping his post and power than meeting public demands for returning the hostages.
In private, the president has reportedly called Netanyahu an “a**hole” and a “bad f***ing guy.”
Biden is paying a political price – potentially a big one in this presidential year – for being Israel’s most staunch friend. His Democratic Party, once the mainstay of support for the Jewish state, is becoming deeply divided on the subject.
Politico’s Jonathan Martin has written that the Democrats’ coalition may be “unraveling over Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Biden is getting a lot of uncomfortable pressure from friendly Democrats in Congress, including many staunch supporters of Israel who have become highly critical of its far-right government.”
Martin said one of those Democratic lawmakers told him: “Bibi is toxic among many Democratic voters and Biden must distance himself from him – yesterday.”
One consequence has been the damage to Biden’s political prospects as he faces a tough reelection battle. Nowhere is that more critical than in the battleground state of Michigan with its large Arab and Muslim population. He is also facing opposition among black and young voters who often tend to empathize with “underdog” Palestinians.
Israel's new position on the global stage
Once the David, Israel has become the Goliath in the 21st century.
Five Democratic senators recently wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post demanding the administration “act immediately to address the humanitarian catastrophe.” They said Netanyahu’s war strategy has had a “massive and unacceptable impact on Palestinian civilians.” More than a dozen progressive Democratic senators have called for conditioning aid to Israel.
One of the most outspoken, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), accused Israel of a “textbook war crime” by blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Israeli government responded that the only ones blocking food distribution are Hamas.
Van Hollen, whose solid blue state has a large Jewish population, has become the Senate’s leading Israel critic. He agrees Israel has the right to defend itself and destroy Hamas’s military threat but is critical of the impact on Gaza civilians. He will become the state’s senior senator next year with the retirement of Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin, whose leadership in the Jewish community predates his congressional service.
A leading contender for the seat is two-term Rep. David Trone. Trone is not Jewish but in his pre-Congress days had donated over $100,000 to AIPAC, according to the Jewish Insider. He has become a staunch critic of Israel’s Gaza operation and has called for a ceasefire. Netanyahu “has to go. He’s their Trump,” he has said.
AIPAC, which could once be counted on to rally the troops with bipartisan skill, is now seen as partisan and right-wing (thanks in large part to its targeting of progressive critics of Israeli policy). It once refused to “rate or endorse” candidates but today is endorsing and spending millions to defeat largely leftist progressives who don’t share its pro-Likud views. It even targeted a Jewish congressman from a family of pro-Israel leaders because he didn’t toe the AIPAC-Netanyahu line.
Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other top administration officials are met by pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrations wherever they go. Protesters have camped outside of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s home, demanding a ceasefire and reportedly harassing his family even as he shuttles around the Middle East in search of a solution.
Netanyahu’s hostility toward any discussion of “day after” and peace with the Palestinians, his seeming indifference to the humanitarian crisis, and putting killing Hamas ahead of rescuing hostages, may help solidify his far-right base and help him keep his job – for now. But it is driving a deep wedge between Israel and its most critical allies in the White House, in Congress, and in the Jewish community.
The vexing question is not how to repair the relationship in a post-Netanyahu era, but whether it can be repaired.
The writer is a Washington-based journalist, consultant, lobbyist, and former American Israel Public Affairs Committee legislative director.