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Why the bipartisan consensus on Israel is under threat

There was a time when U.S.-Israeli relations enjoyed broad, bipartisan consensus. The left and the right agreed that it was in America’s interest to support Israel, a democratic ally in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

But the relationship is now in trouble. Both political parties in America are being tugged away from Israel.

Take the primary in New Jersey’s 11th District, where a far-left critic of Israel, Analilia Mejia, just won the Democratic nomination. As Josh Kraushaar of Jewish Insider summarizes: “The fact that a candidate as far to the left as Mejia could prevail in one of the most affluent, suburban districts in the country speaks volumes about the state of the party. This is a district, based in Morris County, filled with Wall Street bankers, venture capitalists and other wealthy white-collar workers that was a reliably Republican area not long ago.”

Then there’s Chicago and its suburbs. Once a fertile place for pro-Israel Democrats, it’s become more progressive and less supportive of U.S.-Israel relations. This trend coincides with an influx of open seats in the area, as Henry Olsen explains: “Five Chicago-area seats are open due to retirements or attempts to run for Senate. The winners in those ultra-safe districts will be indicative of which wing of the party is ascendant.”

Chicago’s 9th District is ground zero. There’s a 15-person primary to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Olsen notes the race “will receive outsized national attention for two reasons: the importance of AIPAC and Israeli-Gaza policy and the presence of 26-year-old ultra-progressive internet influencer Kat Abughazaleh” who’s “raised nearly $1.9 million from unitemized receipts — people who give in such small amounts that their names do not need to be legally reported.”

A quick Google search of Abughazaleh reveals statements like, “F— It, Let’s Beat AIPAC” and “It’s F— AIPAC Week.” Abughazaleh, as Olsen describes, is running strongly against Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and state Sen. Laura Fine in an election that is considered “anybody’s race.”

Meanwhile, warning bells have been flashing for Israel amongst GOP voters for some time. Early in Trump’s term, polling data showed that the number of Republican and lean Republican voters who “have an unfavorable view of Israel” had spiked 10 percent over three years. This increase was sharpest amongst Republicans ages 18-49 — 50 percent of whom viewed Israel negatively at the start of Trump’s second presidency.

Trump’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June further polarized MAGA opinion on Israel, with Tucker Carlson calling for the party to “Drop Israel. Let them fight their own wars.” Polling data collected in the aftermath of the Iran strikes laid bare just how badly Israel was faring with young MAGA voters, as fewer than a quarter of Republicans ages 18-34 sided “more with the Israelis” than the Palestinians. Even when you included older voters in that question, still fewer than half of Republicans favored Israel.

But even more alarming for Israel has been the nation’s declining popularity with young evangelicals. What used to be a bedrock source of American affection for Israel is fast evaporating according to a study published by Tel Aviv University in 2024. In 2018, 68.9 percent of evangelicals under the age of 30 supported Israel and just over 5 percent supported Palestine. Three years later, “only 33.6% of young evangelicals conveyed support for Israel while 24.3% supported the Palestinians.” According to Yoav Fromer, head of the Center for the Study of the United States (CSUS) at Tel Aviv University, “This should be a wake-up call for Israeli policymakers.”

There are reasons for the erosion in both parties.

First, the black-and-white images of Israel rising from the ashes of the Holocaust are fading from our collective memories. The generation of pro-Israel progressives has been replaced by a generation of younger political activists brought up on a different narrative.

Second, support for Israel has been diminished by the fundamental law of political physics: energy on one side ignites equal or greater energy on the opposite side. Donald Trump’s harnessing of the extreme right created nuclear energy on the left. They not only took to the streets; they found pathways to Congress and key congressional committees.

Third, social media has reduced complex, historical issues to incendiary, algorithm-fueled posts. Nowhere in the heated debates on X and TikTok does one find nuanced discussions of the Balfour Declaration or Israel’s unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip on Sept. 12, 2005, in which they removed all 21 Jewish settlements and withdrew its military forces, ending 38 years of Israeli presence in the territory. Instead, Kat Abughazaleh can post “F— AIPAC” and rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars to her campaign.

Fourth, there’s the Netanyahu Effect. I’ve met him privately and in small groups many times. His first talking point was always: “Israel’s most important strategic asset is bipartisanship in the U.S.” Now, that statement sounds hollow. He’s gone out of his way to antagonize Democrats, just weeks ago blaming the Biden administration for the loss of Israeli lives in Gaza.

The long-term political trends are alarming. The Democrats castigated today may very well be in power after the midterm elections. Benjamin Netanyahu was right in his words, if horribly wrong in his follow-through: bipartisanship in Washington is a vital long-term strategic asset to Jerusalem. A reset is necessary. The rebuilding of a broad coalition that takes in the left and the right in supporting Israel is an American security imperative.

Steve Israel represented New York in the House of Representatives for eight terms and was chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 2011 to 2015.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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