Bipartisan backing for special relationship is fraying as Middle East conflicts turn public opinion
Israel’s conflicts in the Middle East have driven a sea change in US public opinion, threatening a bipartisan consensus of support for military aid for Israel that has been the status quo for decades.
In public opinion polling of Americans, among likely candidates for president, and even in pro-Israel lobbying circles, the special relationship enjoyed by Israel with the US is now under fire as human rights concerns from the left and a new “America First” foreign policy groundswell on the right could impact coming elections – including the 2028 presidential elections.
The shift has been particular marked on the left. When Bernie Sanders, a US senator, first tabled a joint resolution of disapproval (JRD) to oppose arms sales to Israel last year, it received votes from just 15 Democratic members of the Senate. A similar vote last July won 27 supporters.
On Thursday, a vote against supplying Caterpillar D9 bulldozers to Israel – which Sanders said could be used to destroy homes in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon – was defeated again but with a record 40 Senate Democrats supporting it. (Another measure restricting the sale of 1,000lb bombs to Israel was rejected by a 36-63 vote.)
