By Justine Hemmestad
Israeli reporter Nicole Zedeck, of the National Security Podcast, says, “Whatever happens in the U.S. will have an impact on Israel as well.” Zedick says the elections could reinforce or challenge the American-Israeli allegiance. While the allegiance between the two countries has previously been unconditional, and intelligence has previously been shared without question, the days when rock solid bipartisan support for Israel seem far removed (at least for the time being). The clear majority of Americans have supported Israel and a strong U.S.- Israel relationship for decades, support which has always cut across party lines. Almost every American president has sparred with Israel over specifics in the last 70 years, most often pertaining to the West Bank (Carter and Obama most notably), though. But in a post October 7 world, many Jews and Israel supporters feel that Israel’s very fate is at stake. Antisemitism is at an all time high, as Israel’s right to exist is threatened. The level of existential dread is impalpable. The supporters of both American political parties think that only they can solve the crisis. In fact, the Republican Jewish Coalition is fundraising for an ad campaign to support Trump, while a Michigan ad says that Harris is too “Pro Israel.” Trump also made the dangerous statement that if he lost, Jews would be to blame. Yet, Jews see Democrats as having allowed antisemitism to fester all while placing conditions on Israeli support. While many Israeli settlers in the West Bank think a Trump presidency would be good (during the first Trump presidency Israeli settlers were declared legal), “right now the bond between Israel and America is questionable (i24 news).” However, voters with the strength of the Israeli-American friendship as their main concern may want to look beyond Harris or Trump to their fellow Americans. How will Americans react to Israel and Israeli policies going forward, and more importantly, how are Israeli government officials ready to focus on their own policies if a no-win situation occurs? Israeli reporter Calev Ben David asserts that, “At no time in prior elections has so much importance been placed on the Jewish vote, though they make up approximately 2 ½ percent of total electorate (especially 200,000 Jews of Pennsylvania).” A recent poll in Israel found that 66% of Israelis prefer Trump, while just 17% prefer Harris. Former advisor to four Israeli prime ministers, Alon Pinkas, says that Trump doesn’t understand Israel and is a “transactional man.” Pin kas also says that Trump’s isolationist, America first approach is dangerous. He says that Harris’ under- standing of global affairs is quantitatively different from Trump’s, and “in the long run, as an Israeli, he says, “I’d rather have her as president.” Yet, Trump has been reported to have told Netanyahu in August to “Get this over with.” Having spoken before Israel carried out strikes on Iran in retaliation, Trump advised Israel to, “hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later.” The BBC notes that last time Trump was president, Netanyahu was so pleased that he named a community after him (Trump Heights in the rocky, mine-laden Golan Heights). Trump had scrapped an Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran that Israel had always opposed, and Netanyahu called him “the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House.” Gili Shmuelevits, in Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda market, said that Harris, “showed her true colours” when she seemed to agree with a protester at a rally who accused Israel of genocide. She said, “what he’s talking about, it’s real,” though she later clarified her statement and said that she didn’t believe that Israel was committing geno- cide. But Israelis regard a good ally as never pressuring, criticizing, or containing their country. Truly, with the amount of criticism placed on Israel by the Biden administration, a wedge has been driven between Israel and America. Harris has said that she would “not be silent” about her “serious concern about the scale of human suffering” and deaths in Gaza. Trump says the war would end with Israel’s “victory,” and opposes an immediate ceasefire. Both Trump and Harris talk about a new deal to block Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon, and both want to expand normalization agreements between Israel and neighboring Arab countries. “A lot is personal,” says Danny Ayalon, “and personalities matter. “Biden stood by Israel for the entire year, but did not get his recognition because of things like not inviting [Netanyahu] to the White House - things that are more optics than real issues. “Public gestures, and emotions, count.” As do votes. Regardless of how the elections in America have panned out, there are still 7 hostages with American citizenship that must be brought home from Gaza.
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