Israeli press alarmed as criticism of Israel becomes winning recipe in US politics
A string of primary victories by left-wing Democratic candidates has triggered alarm across Israeli media and pro-Israel circles, with commentators warning that support for Israel no longer guarantees "political success".
The victory of democratic socialist Melat Kiros over 15-term pro-Israel US Representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s primary election on Tuesday added to a series of wins by candidates who have challenged Israel’s influence over US politics, opposed the genocide in Gaza and described Israel as an apartheid state.
Kiros's win followed wins by three Democratic Socialist candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as well as another in a Philadelphia congressional primary and one in the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington DC.
The Democratic Socialists are a left-leaning faction that often contests primary elections with the Democratic Party and is becoming a formidable force within the US left.
Israeli outlets have treated the results as more than a domestic US political story. They have framed them as another sign that Israel’s standing in the US – particularly among Democratic voters – is collapsing amid its wars on Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran.
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In an editorial published on Thursday, The Jerusalem Post, whose owner has been closely associated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warned that the Democratic Party was moving further away from Israel.
“Who would have thought that we would ever be looking back nostalgically on the days when the anti-Israel “Squad” in the US Congress numbered only four people?” the editorial said.
The Squad refers to a group of progressive Democratic lawmakers in the US Congress, originally made up of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib.
They became known for pushing the party left on healthcare, climate justice, racial justice and Palestinian rights.
Many of the latest primary winners have campaigned on platforms that include universal healthcare, a universal basic income, publicly owned grocery stores, ending US military aid to Israel, stopping the genocide in Gaza and recognising Israel as an apartheid state.
The Jerusalem Post described the latest wave of Democratic victories as “an Israel problem”.
The paper said the danger lies in how these candidates are “already changing the party’s priorities, changing how Democratic politicians approach Israel, and changing the tenor of the debate surrounding Israel”.
'A new generation have turned on Israel'
The Times of Israel also reflected the anxiety spreading through Israel’s political and media establishment. One writer described the recent democratic socialist wins in New York as a “cautionary tale” and compared them to the “Russian Revolution of 1917”, which ushered in the Soviet Union.
Another writer at the outlet said the ”resounding victories… signify that a new generation of Democrats have turned on Israel”.
The results mirror a sharp shift in public opinion. Polling by the Pew Research Center has found that almost 80 percent of Democrats and independents hold critical views of Israel.
'Being staunchly anti-Israel is no longer a road block to success in Democratic politics'
- Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Among Democratic voters, support for Israel has eroded sharply.
A Quinnipiac University survey released on 24 June found that 48 percent of American voters believe the United States is “too supportive” of Israel, while 38 percent said US support is about right and 7 percent said Washington is not supportive enough.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency said New York's primary results felt “more seismic” than Mamdani’s rise to City Hall last November.
“Being staunchly anti-Israel is no longer a road block to success in Democratic politics… This is the first time that incumbent congressmen have lost their seats in campaigns in which they were repeatedly attacked for being too supportive of Israel,” the outlet said.
The agency added that, whatever local issues shaped each race, the success of candidates who criticised Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) sent a powerful message.
Worries for pro-Israel media outlets
The pro-Israel outlet The Free Press, founded by Bari Weiss, who is now the controversial editor-in-chief of CBS News, cast the results as part of a wider struggle inside the Democratic Party.
It presented the battle as one between the party’s pro-Israel old guard and an insurgent grassroots left that it described as “virulently anti-Israel”.
In Haaretz, one opinion piece said: “The new mayor [Mamdani] has remade his city's politics, at the expense of pro-Israeli incumbents who were tossed aside”, and added that much of the “political ammunition” used against those incumbents was “Made in Israel”.
Another analysis in Haaretz said victories by Israel-critical Democrats demanding a break from the status quo in the US-Israel relationship were “now a feature of Democratic Party demands rather than a bug”.
“Not only are Democrats fed up with the Israeli policies AIPAC defends, but also by its leading role as an outside spender in primary races – often fueled by Republican megadonor money – in determining Democratic races,” it added.
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