When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was about to lose the 1999 elections, he sought to project strength and resolve. He had said about the opposition that “They are scared,” but these words were less an accusation than a projection, reflecting his state of mind.
The sudden and violent attack by the Israeli ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, against the liberal pro-Israel lobby J Street tends to prove the same concern among the Israeli government and its representative in the US for the growing importance of this lobby in Washington.
If AIPAC remains the biggest lobby in terms of members and donations, it will become more isolated in its political positioning.
Indeed, its “Israel is always right” approach is increasingly irrelevant to members of Congress, especially but not exclusively Democratic, but also with the majority of American Jews.
Politics of US Jews
The outburst by the Israeli ambassador thereby proves once more the Israeli government’s utter disdain both for bipartisan support and for the majority of American Jews.
Netanyahu has chosen for many years to align closely with the Republicans and with Evangelical Christians rather than US Jews, and the brutal honesty displayed by the ambassador confirms it openly.
It may also be a wink to US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly attacked the majority of American Jews for voting for the Democrats.
Netanyahu and his coalition partners have decisively chosen a path that goes against the mostly liberal US Jews: politically, with this alliance with the Republicans, but also religiously, with their actions against Reform Jews or women accessing the Western Wall.
The creeping annexation of the West Bank, without granting civic rights to the Palestinians, is also a red line for most US Jews, deeply rooted in civic equality and actively engaged in the Civil Rights battle in the US.
Today, even as 80% of American Jews say that Israel is a key part of their Jewish identity and 64% have a favorable view of the Israeli people, 68% of them have an unfavorable view of Netanyahu and his policies.
In this sense, whether the ambassador likes it or not, J Street reflects the views of the majority of US Jews, who believe at 92% that one can be pro-Israel and criticize its government. Yet he still chose to offend them, way beyond the organization itself.
One can question J Street’s stance. For instance, its active advocacy to block arms sales at a time of war, or the fact that it believes the arms sales to Israel should be treated exactly like those to any other ally, thereby “normalizing” the special relationship.
But aside from “forgetting” that this last vote in April was specifically targeted on bulldozers and 2,000-pound bombs, the ambassador has another memory lapse about the stance taken by Netanyahu about the need to phase out the special assistance by the US government to Israel, to make the Israeli issue less toxic and polarizing in the US political debate.
Alliances with US Jews
J Street is an American organization lobbying Congress about the use of the American taxpayers’ money, in line with their own view of the US-Israel relationship and the democratic nature of the State of Israel.
Leiter’s position is paradoxical and almost farcical when he states that American taxpayers, Jewish or not, should approve all arms sales to Israel without any question, but urges the Jewish critical voices of this assistance to “shut up” and make aliyah if they want to change things.
In other words, as long as you express full support for Israel, you are welcome to express your opinion – but not if you are raising questions.
The upcoming election in Israel will be decisive in many aspects, among them the future of the US-Israel relationship and the nature of the bond between US Jews and the State of Israel.
The opposition has vowed to restore the strategic bipartisanship and alliance with US Jews, after years of degradation that culminated in the brutal attack by the Israeli ambassador.
In that regard, the government of Lapid-Bennett in 2021-2022 proved that a change of tone could achieve a lot and serve as a model to be followed, beyond any major policy changes on settlements or Gaza.
One argues or fights an opponent but cures and extirpates cancer. Words matter as much as substance. Their violence here aims not at opposing J Street but at discrediting it and its supporters altogether.
It also avoids all discussion about the substance of what is at stake: the constant and worrisome degradation of Israel’s standing in the United States, including with Jews, under Netanyahu’s leadership – and what it means for Israel’s future.
Born and raised in France, the writer is the correspondent of French Jewish radio, Radio J, and of the French paper librejournal.fr in the US, where he has been living for 16 years. He is also a contributor to the European review K. He also holds US and Israeli citizenships. His opinions are his only.