American public opinion is becoming increasingly hostile toward Israel. The shift began among Democrats, where positions once confined to the far left have entered the mainstream, and has spread to parts of the Republican Party, gaining influence under Vice President JD Vance.
“Our safety net against sanctions is disappearing,” former IDF Military Intelligence chief Tamir Hayman told ynet analyst Nadav Eyal on Monday at the opening of the ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth National Security Conference, held in partnership with the Institute for National Security Studies.
Hayman, who now heads INSS, said that safety net had long rested on deep public sympathy for Israel in the United States, reflected in bipartisan support that blocked attempts to turn Israel into an isolated state subject to sanctions.
“We are like a tightrope walker,” he said. “We are greatly expanding the boundaries of the campaign while that safety net is disappearing.”
Hayman pointed to what he described as particularly alarming data concerning Americans under the age of 50.
“Among Democrats in that age group, 86% hold a negative view of Israel,” he said. “Among Republicans, 56% in that age group hold a negative view. Even among evangelical Christians, more than half hold a negative view.”
That public opinion, he warned, will eventually be reflected in Washington’s corridors of power.
“These are the next representatives, senators and members of Congress. Support among them is dwindling, while support for the Palestinian narrative is much greater,” he said.
“Were I to narrow the group from under 50 to under 30 or under 25, the picture would become much worse. We are losing part of American society.”
Hayman said Israel’s standing remains strong within the U.S. military, where a generation of commanders admires Israeli capabilities. Political support, however, is much less secure.
ynet's Nadav Eyal and former IDF Military Intelligence chief Tamir Hayman
(Photo: Yuval Chen)
“In the White House, we are relying on one person,” he said. “Many in Israel are betting the future of relations with the United States on Marco Rubio, who has not even won a presidential primary. That is a very dangerous gamble.”
Hayman said Israel’s predicament is tied partly to broader cultural and political upheaval inside the United States.
“There are serious American problems involving a loss of moral and ideological direction in the more extreme woke areas of the left,” he said. “There are lawyers specializing in animal rights over human rights, strange developments that produced a backlash.”
He argued that well-funded campaigns then connected America’s national future to the Palestinian cause, particularly through Qatari funding of media platforms and universities.
“They found a fault line that could be exploited,” he said.
Israel also faces a growing challenge on the American right, Hayman said.
“The backlash against the progressive left created hostility toward foreigners and immigrants, and a desire to return to white Protestant nationalism, with the white church and the cross at the center of town,” he said.
“In parts of the deep American right, Jews are perceived as a hostile force. They state openly that Israel is an enemy of the United States and speak about Jews in terms not very different from what we saw in Germany in the 1930s.”
“There is hatred of Jews and antisemitism on parts of the right, and hatred of Israel and Zionism on parts of the left,” Hayman said. “Among young people, this is growing.”
He warned that the climate also endangers younger pro-Israel American Jews.
“Jewish parents have children who are afraid to say, ‘I am a Zionist,’ because Zionism is now perceived in the United States as a word equivalent to fascism and the worst things imaginable,” he said. “People are ashamed of their Zionism even though they love Israel.”
‘Israel must present a vision’
Despite the trend, Hayman said Israel must not abandon efforts to influence American public opinion.
“There is an enormous audience predisposed to support Israel, namely American Jews, and we are giving up on them because most are not Orthodox,” he said. “That community is important.”
He said Israel must also present a political vision that restores its image as a small, innovative country seeking peace and security.
“We need to present a path, some kind of solution, to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that offers hope,” he said.
“A Palestinian state may not be achievable at present, but the principle matters. Israel must say what it wants to do.”
Hayman also urged Israel not to neglect Europe.
“Israel is not alone in the world,” he said. “There is also Europe, which we have abandoned in security terms, and we must not do that. We are part of Europe’s economic, cultural and security fabric.”
When will Israel act against Iran?
Hayman, who continues to serve as a reservist in Military Intelligence and played a central role in Operation Rising Lion, also addressed reports of a major American attack on Iran that was postponed.
“As long as there is no genuine and significant benefit that changes reality, and President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu do not believe it is worth the cost, they will look for something else,” he said. “What was proposed was more of the same.”
Anyone familiar with Iran, he said, understands that another military strike intended merely to inflict pain would not force Tehran to retreat or accept conditions it has rejected until now.
“The price you may pay for such limited benefit is probably not worthwhile,” he said, adding that interceptor stockpiles were also a factor.
“We will always examine two clocks and two scenarios: the fall of the regime and a nuclear Iran. Which will come first?” Hayman said.
“In my assessment, Israel will not tolerate Iran crossing a certain threshold in its nuclear development, though we will not define that threshold now.”
“Iran is not standing still and continues to act in this field,” he added. “Ultimately, regimes like this fall. The only question is whether Iran obtains the ultimate insurance policy of authoritarian regimes first: a nuclear bomb.”