Israel’s relations with the United States are in flux. On the one hand, the American administration is unprecedently aligned with Israel, standing unwaveringly by its side during the most challenging days in Israel’s history. On the other, the two are becoming distant in a way we have never before witnessed.
The US president has become an elder brother to Israelis—a responsible, compassionate statesman, filling the emotional and leadership void left by Netanyahu’s political unravelling. Jerusalem is governed from Washington, which provides it with the kind of money, weapons, support and diplomacy that permit Israel to take actions in Gaza and the occupied territories that no other western country would be allowed to do. Meanwhile, the sentiment across college campuses, progressive political factions and parts of the media in the US indicates an entirely different direction. The disassociation from Israel is turning into real animosity, even posing a threat to Joe Biden’s chances of re-election. Generally, the more Democratic and younger you are, the more your disassociation from Israel grows. And the more you identify with the struggles of the black community in the US to rectify historical injustices, the more you align with the symbolism of the Palestinian struggle—even if you do not necessarily understand the complexities and differences.
What is the source of this duality? Much has been written about the severe damage inflicted by Netanyahu on Israel’s relations with the US. The Israeli prime minister has pushed his country into the arms of its most conservative factions, striking deals with its worst elements as he makes a political base of evangelical Christians in the US—and all while distancing himself from most Jewish Democrats. Yet aNetanyahu-Trump alliance is much more than a passing political conjuncture.