About two weeks ago, I happened to meet a group of young Jewish Democrats. They no longer attend events connected to Israel. I've encountered Jews who have grown alienated from Israel before. There have always been some. But even when they were angry with us, even when they voiced harsh criticism of Israel, it was because they cared. Israel mattered to them. Their parents were usually, and perhaps still are, staunch Zionists. There are still Democrats who support Israel. But the change is unfolding before our eyes.
Seventy-four percent of Democratic voters oppose additional military and economic aid to Israel. Another survey, conducted across several states, found strong support among Democratic voters, averaging 70%, for ending all aid to Israel. The problem is that even these latest polls may be too optimistic. American public opinion is undergoing a rapid transformation, and hostility toward Israel could reach unprecedented levels.
US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Florida
(Photo: REUTERS/Evan Vucci)
By most forecasts, Democrats are poised to take control of the House of Representatives today, and many projections, though with less certainty, suggest they could also win the Senate. We may soon find ourselves looking back fondly on Bernie Sanders, who has himself undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years. Once, he was simply a critic of Israel. In recent years, he has joined the ranks of those openly hostile to it. There seems to be no anti-Israel initiative he does not support. But if Abdul El-Sayed wins the Senate race in Michigan, we could see something even more troubling: a politician whom I regard as aligned with the so-called axis of evil, and whose positions I see as dangerously sympathetic to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Hamas, taking a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Michigan is home to some 100,000 Jews. In recent days, allegations about El-Sayed's connections to the Muslim Brotherhood have received growing attention. The Brotherhood is the ideological parent of Islamist movements, including Hamas, and has played a central role in the development of jihadist organizations. Will any of this influence Michigan's Jewish voters? It will be an interesting test. But our recent experience with New York City's mayoral election suggests that the opposite can happen. Judging by the attitudes I encountered among the young people I met, such controversies can actually encourage them to vote for candidates hostile to Israel. After all, they are "progressives." They are devoted followers of identity politics, provided the identity in question is not their own. They have been thoroughly exposed to anti-Western and anti-Zionist indoctrination on college campuses. Some resist the prevailing mood. But most young Jews seem content to go along with it. Anyone who thought years of Qatari influence would have no consequences was profoundly mistaken. Yet it is the Jews who are accused of wielding excessive influence. Even some Jews repeat that accusation.
What troubles me most when speaking with young Jews is how little they actually understand about the issues they discuss. The effective exclusion of almost every Zionist or pro-Israel voice from certain academic and activist spaces has consequences. These young people are exposed to almost exclusively one perspective, and before long they become part of the crowd. It is not that they know nothing. They know plenty, but what they know is profoundly one-sided. The two Israeli names that come up again and again are Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the country's far-right politicians. To them, these men represent Israel. And so do the violent extremists among Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Not every report coming out of the West Bank is accurate, but some certainly are. Either way, these young people are exposed to such footage relentlessly. And the message sinks in.
Israel is no longer seen as the high-tech powerhouse, the country that helped countless Africans through advanced irrigation and agricultural technology, or the nation that developed medicines benefiting billions of people around the world. Any mention of Israel's liberal, progressive or scientific achievements is met with the same familiar accusation: "pinkwashing." In other words, the Israel we describe is supposedly a carefully constructed deception, intended to conceal what critics call apartheid and genocide. And when I show them a graph of the deaths in Gaza, which I believe undermines the claim of genocide, I am met with blank stares. Not from everyone. But from many. Far too many.
Today, they will go to the polls. And according to most surveys, they will help deliver a congressional majority to Democrats, many of whom are increasingly hostile to Israel. The United States and Israel cooperate on important projects, including purely defensive systems such as Iron Dome, designed to intercept incoming rockets. Yet for some of today's voters, even that cooperation is fundamentally objectionable. Because America itself has changed. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, 91% of Americans said they were proud to be American. Today, that figure stands at just 53%. Worse still, it is lower among younger Americans, and alarmingly lower among highly educated young people. It is hardly surprising, then, that U.S.-Israeli cooperation holds little appeal for them. On the contrary, they find it objectionable.
The Mishnah, an ancient collection of Jewish teachings, offers a simple lesson: "Your deeds can bring you closer, and your deeds can push you away." So the blame cannot rest solely with Qatar or the influence of progressive ideology. We are not passive spectators in this story. It is difficult to ignore the fact that, in recent years, Israel has gone out of its way to alienate others, much to the delight of those who hate it. Yes, Israel had not only the right but the duty to defend itself after the October 7 massacre. But the simplest, most obvious steps needed to preserve the support of the majority that sympathized with Israel just three years ago were never taken. Quite the opposite.
So we are approaching a turning point, not only in Israel but also in the United States. It will not be good for Israel. The only question is just how bad it will be.