This year marks 250 years since the United States gained its independence from the United Kingdom. In these two and a half centuries, the US managed to establish itself as the strongest superpower to ever exist and introduce a level of freedom and prosperity previously rarely known to humankind.
On the face of it, one of the US’s most loyal allies, Israel, seems small and insignificant – geographically, demographically, and economically. But that is not the case.
The 250-year-old United States is indeed more than three times older than the 78-year-old modern Israel.
However, this calculation does not take into account that modern-day Israel is only the most recent manifestation of an ancient people, one that, like the United States, has contributed significantly to the development of the world around it throughout history.
Bi-partisan support
Despite the US being largely a secular nation, the history of the Jewish people, as well as a host of other reasons, has led many Americans to support modern-day Israel.
Indeed, over the years, Israel has prided itself on being one of the only truly bipartisan issues in American politics, boasting support from both major parties.
There is no need to brush over the more challenging phases in the American-Israeli relationship. That relationship has included weapons embargoes and massive aerial weapons shipments; the use of the American veto power in the United Nations Security Council to halt condemnation of Israel, and the avoidance of using it; the inclusion of Israel in joint military operations against Iran, and the exclusion of Israel from the Gulf War coalition; president Joe Biden’s famous “Don’t,” and other good and bad moments alike.
Growing divide
However, no shift in the relationship seems as stark and problematic as the one the relationship is experiencing since October 7, 2023. This shift manifests itself in significant gaps of perception between elite and public perceptions, in the targeting of the Jewish Diaspora, and in the debate about the shared values that are the basis of the relationship.
Putting it succinctly, the old nation has a young problem with Israel. As mentioned above, criticism of Israel, and even the employment of certain measures against it, are not new. The “young” element refers not to the problem itself, but to the people driving the growing distance between the two allies.
The disagreement between the establishment and the public around Israel was most pronounced during the Rising Lion/Epic Fury operation conducted by the United States and Israel led against Iran.
While US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth praised Israel as a loyal and capable ally, young activists in the United States were calling for the operation to cease immediately while spreading falsehoods claiming that Israel forced the US to attack Iran.
These falsehoods sometimes crossed the line over to antisemitic conspiracy theories of a collective Jewish interest, according to which world leaders act. But this instance demonstrates not just a disagreement on Israel, but a more profound challenge to the US itself – voices from within the country who see their own nation as an inherently racist, imperialist, and oppressive project.
In this case, like in the case of the comparison that Rep. Ilhan Omar made between the US and Israel to the Taliban and Hamas, as well as in other cases, the hatred of Israel and that of the United States go hand in hand.
If the hatred of Israel is not enough of an incentive to tackle those young extremists, the hatred of their own country should be.
Antisemitism does not remain in the conspiracy theories realm alone. Over the last few years, we have been witnessing increasing targeting of Diaspora Jewish communities in response to geopolitical events in the Middle East.
Collective responsibility
In other words, people are holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions and policies of the State of Israel, a state that does not consult those communities before taking such actions and setting such policies.
Needless to say, this categorization of Jews as responsible for Israel is in itself an antisemitic act according to the antisemitism working definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
Youngsters in the US are unable or unwilling to make the distinction between Jewish communities, even those supportive of Israel, and Israel itself. They target them not only verbally, which is bad enough in itself, but also by desecrating synagogues and other community institutions, and by physically assaulting members of the community.
Lastly, the debate about shared values, which is at the basis of the American-Israeli relationship, is becoming a frequent one.
While Israelis are acutely aware of the radicalization in the Democratic Party and of the strengthening and mainstreaming of White Nationalists in the Republican Party, we also need to acknowledge that, to the world, it seems like we have changed as well.
As someone who grew up in Judea and Samaria, it is heartbreaking for me as well to see local youth attacking Palestinian residents, while Israel is not doing enough to stop them.
For Westerners, it is hard to see the Israeli government leading policies that they disagree with, including ones perceived as non-liberal. The concept of an unrestricted tenure in the country’s top positions, albeit being legal in Israel, seems foreign and corrupt to them, among other things.
While certain elements in the US, especially in the party to which most Jews vote, are veering to the Left, Israel is shifting to the Right, making it hard for them to escape the feeling that they no longer have a lot in common with the Jewish state.
This point should be the first thing on the minds of those working to repair this important relationship. All other aspects of the relationship are important, but without addressing the values, the relationship between Israel and the US will be just another relationship the US has with any other country.
To maintain the “special” element in the relationship, Israel must hold bold and difficult values-based conversations with its allies and counterparts in the US, chief among them American Jewry, but most importantly, within Israel, so we understand which Israel we want to be. Only then will we be able to present it to the world.■
Ofir Dayan leads the Antisemitism and Delegitimization Research Team at the Institute for National Security Studies, is a board member at Forum Dvorah, and is the author of Intifada on the Hudson by Yedioth Books.