H. Scott Prosterman Informed Comment
The winds of political change are blowing within Israel. A refreshing development is the emergence of the “A Place for Us All” Party, an alliance of Israelis and Israeli Arabs, which arose from the “Standing Together” social grassroots movement. Headed by Alon-Lee Green and Rula Daood. the movement’s membership has grown to 7,000 members from a few hundred since October 7. Notably, it has earned the support of many prominent Israelis including actress Natalie Portman. She called this movement, “one of the most courageous and exciting developments in Israel-Palestine in recent years,” saying, “The establishment wants to tell us that this is impossible – They want to minimize what these incredible leaders are doing here right now, and they’re terrified of what this movement represents.” This is a revolutionary development in Israeli politics, and what she called, “a new path based on equality and partnership.”
Things are changing in the US, as well. On July 15th, 103 Democrats voted to cut $3.3B in aid to Israel in the State Department spending bill. This is a profound expression of rejection of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership by a majority of House Democrats. While this vote is only symbolic for now, it represents a tectonic shift within the Democratic Party and a dramatic reckoning.
Two years ago, just 37 House Democrats voted to cut off U.S. aid for Israel. Now more than half of the Democratic representatives have come around to recognizing: 1.) That unconditional US support for Israel is no longer tenable, and 2.) Netanyahu’s Likud government has become a global pariah state, and 3.) Continued support of Israel brings the US global alienation; and BTW, probably cost Kamala Harris the 2024 presidential election. Though the Democratic leadership remains captive to the AIPAC payroll, the US-Israeli relationship has never been more tenuous. This occurs in tandem with the rise of similar grassroots movements within Israel.
The vote on an amendment to the State Department spending bill passed 314-104, on the strength of unwavering Republican support for the MAGA-Likud alliance; so Israel will continue to receive $3.3B. Convicted felon Donald Trump and Netanyahu have forged a symbiotic “Siamese criminal conspiracy,” and positioned Likud as the Israeli wing of MAGA. To his credit, lame duck Rep. Thomas Massie introduced the amendment to cut off aid to Israel, but all other Republicans remain in lockstep with the MAGA-Likud alliance. The 103 Democrats who voted to cut off aid to Israel are listed here. Lamentably, AIPAC still gets a free pass on unlawful interference in US election campaigns.
The UK was the original benefactor-protector of Israel during World War I, before Israel was founded. It was also the genesis of the modern Arab-Israeli conflict, as the Crown made two separate agreements on the same piece of real estate to ensure their hegemony in the region. The motivation was to protect the shipping lanes in the straights of Suez. In 1915, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Henry McMahon engaged Sharif Hussein ibn Ali of Mecca in a diplomatic correspondence in an effort to enlist Arab support against Germany and Turkey in World War I, and spark an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. As that was playing out in a series of eight transmissions over the next two years, the UK issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917, to express their support for a “Jewish homeland” in the Levant. Ultimately, the UK decided that the nascent Jewish state would be a more reliable client and guardian of the Suez Straights than the Arabs, and formulated their policy accordingly.
The United States supplanted the UK and France as Israel’s benefactor-protector in the aftermath of the 1956 Suez War. That also happened to be President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s (Ike) finest moment as president, in a display of integrity that once characterized American presidencies. Just days before the 1956 presidential election, Ike ordered Israel, the UK and France to quit their military campaign in the Suez. Ike was trying to pressure the Soviet Union to quit their invasion of Hungary. He essentially told them, “How can I tell the Soviets to quit Hungary and stay out of the Middle East, when you guys are invading Egypt?”
Eisenhower’s role in ending the 1956 Suez conflict represented a true “profile in courage,” in the spirit of his successor John F. Kennedy. Israel’s invasion of the Sinai on October 29 had been pre-arranged with Britain and France, who followed up with air support on November 5. This happened to be Election Day in the U.S., and occurred, despite a UN brokered cease-fire that was issued on November 2. In 1950, the US, Britain and France formed their own tripartite agreement “to assist the victim of any aggression in the Mideast.” Ike was furious that his closest allies had violated the spirit of that agreement AND kept him in the dark about their plans for invasion.
The US became Israel’s guardian and financier after the 1956 Suez crisis, and a bipartisan agreement between America’s governing parties has held sway for unqualified support for Israel ever since. Now, that may be nearing the end of its course, as a majority of Democrats have voted to end unconditional aid to Israel. Though he has received over $1.7M from AIPAC during his leadership, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries recently called for a “major reset” in US-Israeli relations.
Perhaps the most astonishing development is that 15 House Democrats who had prior AIPAC endorsements (and funding) voted for the aid cutoff. AIPAC promptly removed their donation links on their site. That unprecedented display of courage illustrates cracks in the AIPAC dyke, and represents a dramatic policy shift. Since the 1978 Camp David Accords, the US has given Israel about $250B (adjusted for inflation).
AIPAC tries to argue that NYC Mayor Zohran Mandami, and others who oppose the illegal West Bank Settlements and Gaza genocide, are supporting Hamas. After October 7, 2023, Israel had overwhelming global sympathy, which they quickly squandered with the genocidal overkill in Gaza. As the situation has worsened, more US elected officials have questioned or abandoned their support for Israel including Rep. Pramila Jaypal (D-WA). She said, “This is U.S. taxpayer dollars. And we have not upheld the Israeli government to any of our domestic laws or international laws in terms of requirements, completely unaccountable money. And it has to stop.”
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. Public Domain. Via Picryl
AIPAC has supported over 100 climate-change deniers and 2020 election deniers in Congress, in their campaign to aid and promote Trump. But, their solid standing in the US is at greater risk than ever, because they are defending an untenable position. Yet, they’re still strong enough to finance primary challenges to Democrats who have broken with Israel in a way that is blatantly unlawful for a foreign lobby. The FBI’s Foreign Influence Task force and Justice Department responsible for prosecuting such crimes have been silent under Trump.
The Trump-Netanyahu partnership has been disastrous for both nations and the world. Now it’s prompting a reckoning in US and Israeli politics, and hope for a change. The State Department spending vote is a dramatic first step, as is the rise of “A Place for Us All” in Israel. But opposition movements in both countries have a long way to go. The base must be broadened in both movements to: a.) Overturn the entrenched, unqualified support for Israel in Congress, and b.) Grow the new Israeli base way beyond the current 50,000 supporters. That would amount to only 0.8% of the projected October vote for a new government, far short of the 3.25% needed to gain four Knesset seats. But the tide has turned.
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