“Yes, there is a vigorous debate, but across broad segments of the parties, support for Israel remains firmly in the mainstream,” said Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, in an interview.
ISRAEL A FLASHPOINT IN MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC RACE
The shift faces a major test in Tuesday’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Michigan where voters will weigh competing visions of U.S. support with growing numbers of congressional Democrats questioning longstanding U.S. military aid.
The race between progressive Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens will determine who faces Republican Mike Rogers in November and reflects the wider Democratic debate over Israel and longstanding U.S. military support.
Stevens made a video with AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major donor to her campaign, arguing that a close relationship with Israel “yields trade, that yields economic growth and that keeps our freedoms safe.”
By contrast, El-Sayed, a former public health official, told Fox News: “The question is whether we want a politics where our money is sent over to Israel to fund genocide and apartheid instead of investing in our own kids.”
A U.N. inquiry and several human rights groups accused Israel of committing genocide in its military’s devastation of Gaza, an allegation Israel rejects, saying it is fighting Hamas and taking steps to reduce civilian harm.
Israeli policy has been a factor in other battleground congressional races, including New York, Florida and Colorado.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session July 16 at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, before it dissolves ahead of the 2026 Israeli elections, in Jerusalem.
Ronen Zvulun, Reuters
DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL ERODES
Strains with Democrats deepened 11 years ago, when in a speech to Congress at the request of the Republican majority Netanyahu attacked a deal crafted by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, on controlling Iran’s nuclear program.