by Malek Dudakov
[REGNUM] Benjamin Netanyahu is becoming persona non grata in the United States. The Israeli Prime Minister's visit to America took place in a very chaotic atmosphere.
This is the Israeli leader's second visit to the United States in the past six months. He visited Washington in February, just before the outbreak of the war with Iran, which Netanyahu lobbied for. Since then, Donald Trump has avoided personal meetings with Bibi (the Israeli prime minister's nickname) for many months.
White House officials blame Netanyahu personally for dragging them into the Middle East quagmire from which they are now unable to escape.
| So some claim — mostly anonymously, one notes. |
What was initially planned as a two-week campaign has now turned into a five-month war with no end in sight, and it's increasingly devouring the Pentagon's resources.
It is significant that at the very moment of Netanyahu's visit to the United States, Iran launched further strikes on American military bases.
But there were no retaliatory attacks: it is clear that the United States is already forced to conserve its scarce missile stockpiles, just to avoid being left without them completely.
Pentagon and IDF officials are currently discussing the prospects of strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. This topic was likely raised during Trump's talks with Netanyahu. However, the risks of such an operation are high, and the White House is hesitant.
A curious domestic political controversy erupted ahead of the Israeli Prime Minister's arrival in the United States. Socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for Netanyahu's arrest upon his arrival in the United States, following a lawsuit filed by the International Criminal Court.
Trump promised to ensure the Israeli prime minister's safety. However, polls immediately came out showing that nearly half of Americans support Netanyahu's arrest. Even among Republicans, about a third accuse him of war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu in the United States had to constantly hide from crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters who shouted that he would not escape justice for genocide.
Attitudes toward Israel and Netanyahu in the United States have deteriorated significantly in recent years. For the first time in modern history, the majority of Americans have developed a negative perception of the country's actions. Democrats are actively pursuing an anti-Israel agenda, actively using it in their election campaigns.
The left wing of the Democratic Party, represented by Mamdani, is particularly zealous. They demand a military embargo against Israel and sanctions against members of Netanyahu's cabinet.
In the next Congress, the left will form a caucus of 25-30 lawmakers. This is enough to force the rest of the Democrats to take notice. The socialists hope to exploit anti-Israel sentiment in American society to influence the next electoral cycle and try to gain power.
The MAGA faction in American politics has also become increasingly negative about Israel. It's no wonder that Steve Bannon, one of the ideologists of Trumpism, has openly stated that every visit by Netanyahu to the United States leads to disaster.
MAGA supporters cannot forgive Bibi for getting involved in the war with Iran, which burned up too much of their political capital.
Israeli lobbyists are looking forward to the upcoming congressional elections with growing concern. Netanyahu is already proposing that the US reduce direct military aid to Israel to a minimum, amounting to three to four billion dollars annually.
These aren't critical for the IDF; it would be much worse if there were disruptions in the supply of fighter jet components or aerial bombs. A US military embargo would quickly plunge the Israeli army into crisis.
US Vice President J.D. Vance advised Netanyahu to remain calm in Washington so as not to lose the support of his only remaining ally.
However, the Israeli prime minister is in a dire situation. Recently, Trump has bypassed him on two Middle East deals that affect the interests of the Jewish state.
The first concerns the provision of fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, and the second concerns Saudi Arabia's access to nuclear technology. Israeli lobbyists fear this will undermine the IDF's military advantage in the Middle East. Furthermore, the previous plan was to force Riyadh to recognize the Jewish state, which failed to materialize.
Netanyahu's attempts to derail both deals did not go unnoticed in the White House. They further worsened the attitude toward the Israeli prime minister within Trump's administration.
Many in Washington already view Bibi as a lame duck who may be sitting out her final months as prime minister.
Israel will hold snap parliamentary elections in October, in which the positions of the ruling Likud party and its coalition partners are quite precarious.
The opposition forces, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, are also largely fragmented. However, they hope to collectively win more seats than Netanyahu's supporters and then form a kind of coalition "national salvation government."
Representatives of Trump's team have already held informal talks with the Israeli opposition. However, they are reluctant to support it, fearing that Netanyahu would then commit another gamble, such as bombing Iran's nuclear facilities alone, without US approval.
Trump's previous attempts to influence the outcome of elections in other countries have mostly ended in failure. It's enough to recall Viktor Orbán in Hungary, who even suffered a backlash.
The old pro-Israel consensus that once held American society together is gradually fading. This will have long-term and extremely negative consequences for Israel, no matter who becomes its new leader.
After all, Israel's dependence on the US is colossal, manifesting itself in military-technical matters, finance, and the economy as a whole. Only its unique access to American markets allowed Israel to avoid a serious crisis after the events of October 7 and the outbreak of the war with Hamas.
The transformation of sentiment in the US will become increasingly evident with the generational shift in American politics. Baby boomers, now aged 60–80, continue to dominate Washington and, by default, view Israel quite positively.
But the younger generation of Americans—Zoomers and Millennials—are already extremely skeptical about the prospects of his continued support. This applies to both Democrats and Republicans.
The war in Iran has deeply traumatized American society,
| It has? I somehow missed it. Some unbalanced college activists and artistic types, and white Karens of both s3xes and multiple genders with nothing better to do than posture, sure... |
The Persian Gulf monarchies have already figured out which way the wind is blowing and are trying to reduce their dependence on America. Israel, however, has no choice but to continue to force Washington to engage in the Middle East agenda.
After all, if the US focus finally shifts to other areas like Asia and Latin America, Israel will find itself de facto in true isolation.
… which will free Israel of the need to work for outside approval, instead fighting for the rapid win, whatever it takes. Her attackers will not enjoy the result.
| Facebook Reel: The Times of Israel’s senior analyst, Haviv Rettig Gur briefly discusses what will happen when the Democrats as a party turn their backs on Israel Link I think it’s a clip at about minute 41 in this YouTube podcast |