US President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not positively affect the election and, given how Israelis view advice from abroad, may even harm Bibi.
The endorsement will certainly have no long-term impact on the US-Israel relationship.
It does, of course, represent the first time in Israeli history that a US president had publicly endorsed a candidate in an Israeli election.
Complaints about an alleged US intervention in the 1999 and 2001 Israeli elections did surface when American presidents, less enamored of Bibi, were in office, yet nothing was ever proven, and nothing was ever publicly stated.
Regardless, this current endorsement is meaningless for several reasons.
First and foremost, Israelis hate to be told what to do politically by people living abroad, independent of their office or public persona.
We Israelis are culturally known for frequently offering unsolicited advice to strangers at home, as directness is a standard part of local communication.
However, when it comes to receiving advice from abroad – particularly regarding security, behavior, or how to navigate global hostility – reactions are mixed, with the message more likely to increase tensions and generally not be well received.
Ilana Shpaizman, a senior lecturer in the Political Studies Department at Bar-Ilan University, stated in an article distributed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: “I don’t think it will change anything.”
“Of course, Netanyahu will say this is proof that: ‘I’m a leader’ and all that, and: ‘I can speak to Trump.’ [So] what? His followers already know that and they believe in him. They don’t need the endorsement,” she said.
Shpaizman went on to say that “Trump forced [Netanyahu] to accept the ceasefire in Gaza and the hostage deal.
“Trump runs the show around Iran,” she continued. “So they [i.e. those who don’t support Bibi] don’t need the endorsement either.”
Israel's confidence in Trump falls
In addition, Trump’s image in Israel had deteriorated dramatically since the beginning of the Iran war. The Israel Democracy Institute’s (IDI) recent public opinion surveys have found that the president’s popularity had plummeted after he stopped the war with Iran without totally removing the threats against us here in Israel.
According to one poll, the Israeli public’s confidence in Trump as someone dedicated to Israel’s security fell from around 70% earlier this year to just 42% this past month.
Some also say Israel’s relationship with the US will remain positive as long as a Bibi-Trump axis exists. That statement is, on its surface, a canard.
The US-Israel relationship is built on the concept of mutual benefit. It can fluctuate somewhat from administration to administration, but its base remains solid because of the perceived needs and benefits each enjoys from the other.
For example, the US supplies Israel with weaponry. Yet much of the technology behind that weaponry comes from Israeli companies such as Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Elbit Systems, and Israel Aerospace Industries.
In addition, except when the US is involved in an active war, Israel is typically the preferred practical testing ground for much of America’s weaponry.
Beyond defense-related industries, US government data shows that Israeli and Israeli-owned companies invest more than $24 billion annually in the United States. Over the 10-year span from 2015 to 2024, for instance, cumulative Israeli investment in the US exceeded $318b. Further, Israeli investment in US commercial real estate reached $1.06b. in 2025, placing Israel 8th among foreign investors in US commercial real estate.
Israel is also responsible for significant job creation in the US. Israeli-founded and Israeli-owned companies support over 250,000 jobs across various US states, with major footprints in New York, Florida, California, and Massachusetts.
Nearly 600 Israeli-founded companies operate in New York City alone, having directly created over 27,000 local jobs and indirectly supporting thousands more.
However next week’s elections will turn out, these elements of interdependency between the US and Israel will continue because sales, investments, and profits drive them, not politics.
At the end of the day, the US-Israel axis is strong enough to withstand political changes in either country, whatever those may be. While it may make Netanyahu feel good to get the US president’s endorsement, it probably won’t boost turnout at the ballot box. It might even turn off some potential supporters.
Trump’s endorsement notwithstanding, our current relationship with the US is best summarized by the words of Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who wrote in this week’s National Review: “To secure the next American century, the two countries [i.e. Israel and the US] need to build a joint venture based on tech and defense innovation. It’s time for a reset in the US-Israel relationship. No, not because Israel did anything wrong. To the contrary, it’s because Israel is so essential to America and too many Americans don’t understand why.” Point made!
The writer, a 42-year resident of Jerusalem, is a former national president of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, a past chairperson of the board of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and a board member of the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM).