The US has been a steadfast ally of Israel for decades, transforming a Cold War-era partnership into a close relationship possessing deep religious, cultural and political components. The current iteration of the decades-long Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, has created rifts between the US and Israel over issues pertaining to use of force by Israel. These tensions escalated during the administration of former US President Joe Biden. Despite campaigning on strong support for Israel, US President Donald Trump, through words and action, appears to have distanced himself from the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when it comes to Gaza while publicly claiming otherwise. Trump’s continued support for the state of Israel, however, remains as strong as ever.
In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, the issue of US support for Israel was one of the main foreign policy issues being weighed by the US electorate. There was widespread dissatisfaction with the policies of the Biden administration, seen by some US voters as being too deferential, and by others as too restrictive. Trump’s nascent isolationism, combined with his history of personal animosity with Netanyahu, created an atmosphere of unpredictability that troubled many US supporters of Israel.
