Two opinion pieces argue Democrats' break with Israel goes beyond Netanyahu
Two right-leaning Israeli outlets published opinion columns arguing that Democratic criticism of Israel is not confined to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and would outlast him. Both are opinion pieces, not news reports.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 2Two opinion columns in Israeli outlets, one in JNS and one in The Jerusalem Post, argue that the Democratic Party's distance from Israel is not just a reaction to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. JNSR “The Democrats have abandoned Israel, not just Netanyahu” Read at JNS ↗ The Jerusalem PostRC “Democrats say Netanyahu is the problem - but their opposition to Israel runs deeper - opinion” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ Right · 1In JNS, columnist Jonathan S. Tobin wrote that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, in a debate with Republican Stacy Garrity, reaffirmed his support for Israel while denouncing Netanyahu. According to Tobin, Shapiro said Netanyahu was making it impossible to maintain the U.S.-Israel alliance and that he hoped Netanyahu would not be re-elected later this month. JNSR “But he balanced that with a denunciation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, he claimed, was making it impossible to maintain the U.S.-Israel alliance.” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 1Tobin argued that in 2026 Democratic primaries, pro-Israel stances, even lukewarm ones, were a "kiss of death" for candidates, citing Rep. Dan Goldman. He also pointed to the party rallying behind Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whom he called an opponent of the Jewish state. He wrote that El-Sayed has received endorsements and financial support from Democrats including Chuck Schumer, Elissa Slotkin and Dana Nessel, and that Barack Obama campaigned with him. JNSR “In primary after primary conducted by Democrats, a stance such as Shapiro’s or even far more lukewarm affirmations of support was a kiss of death for candidates.”“he has received endorsements and even financial support from a host of Democrats, including Jews like Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.” Read at JNS ↗
Right · 1Tobin rejected the thesis, laid out in an Atlantic article by Franklin Foer, that Netanyahu's partisanship blew up bipartisan support for Israel, calling it "largely false". He instead blamed Obama and a party moving left, citing Obama's pressure for a two-state solution and the 2015 Iran deal fight, and said Democrats from Obama and Biden onward took positions at odds with most Israeli voters. JNSR “The problem with the thesis blaming all of this on Netanyahu’s Republican partisanship, which was laid out in a recent article in The Atlantic by Franklin Foer, is that it is largely false.”“At every step, it was Democrats like Obama, former President Joe Biden and others who took positions at odds with the overwhelming majority of Israeli voters” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 1In The Jerusalem Post, Aliza Pilichowski, a hospice chaplain in Jerusalem and mayor of Mitzpe Yeriho, wrote that Democratic establishment criticism has "gathered around one name" and that this focus lets the party appease a radicalizing base without saying how far that base has moved. The Jerusalem PostRC “The focus buys time. It lets Democrats appease a radicalizing part of their base without saying how far that base has moved from even conditional support for the US-Israel relationship.”“The writer is a certified interfaith hospice chaplain in Jerusalem and the mayor of Mitzpe Yeriho.” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ Right · 1Pilichowski cited Schumer's March 2024 Senate speech, in which he said Netanyahu had "lost his way" and called for Israeli elections, and Sen. Bernie Sanders's criticism of Netanyahu's "extremist and racist government". She argued that the objection of a large and growing part of the base is to Israel and Zionism itself, pointing to post-October 7 campus encampments and to surveys of younger Democrats. The Jerusalem PostRC “he believed Prime Minister Netanyahu had “lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.””“Surveys have tracked the same movement for years among younger Democrats, whose sympathy for Israel has fallen well below the levels their parents reported.” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗
Right · 2Both writers conclude that Netanyahu's removal would not restore earlier Democratic support. Pilichowski wrote that his departure "will end the postponement" and force Democrats to say whether they were drawing a line around one man or moving toward a break with the alliance. Tobin wrote that even Netanyahu's defeat will not win back a party that has broken with Israel. The Jerusalem PostRC “His departure will not retire the argument; it will end the postponement.” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ JNSR “But even his defeat won’t reclaim support from a party that from Obama to El-Sayed has broken with the Jewish state.” Read at JNS ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Both Israeli right-leaning outlets run opinion columns presenting Democratic criticism of Netanyahu as cover for a deeper rejection of Israel by the party and its base.
- Emphasis
- Tobin stresses primaries, El-Sayed's candidacy and Obama-era history. Pilichowski stresses the Netanyahu-as-villain rhetorical strategy, activist and campus rejection of a Jewish state, and the reckoning after Netanyahu leaves office.
- Leaves out or plays down
- No left or centre outlets covered the story, so Democrats' own accounts of why they criticise Netanyahu appear only through the columnists' paraphrase. Neither column gives substantial space to Palestinian casualties or to Democratic arguments that policy disagreements, not hostility to Israel, drive the criticism.
- Charged language
- “abandoned Israel”“kiss of death”“blood libels”“openly antisemitic candidate”“Rejection of the Jewish state”
- For example
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“The Democrats have abandoned Israel, not just Netanyahu” — JNS
“Obama’s intervention on behalf of an openly antisemitic candidate caused little surprise.” — JNS
“The delay is the policy. The day Netanyahu leaves office, the policy expires.” — The Jerusalem Post
What every side reports
- Both articles are opinion columns from Israel-based outlets.
- Both argue Democratic criticism of Israel is not limited to Netanyahu and would persist after he leaves office.
- Both cite Chuck Schumer as saying the dispute is with Netanyahu.
Benjamin Netanyahu person
Both columns treat Netanyahu as a convenient target for Democrats. Tobin says criticism of him rests on myths about the last two decades without vindicating him. Pilichowski says he is the "named obstacle" whose exit will end the postponement.
“The purpose of dredging up this history is not so much to vindicate Netanyahu as to point out that the criticisms of the prime minister by Democrats like Shapiro” — JNS
“The voters who treated Netanyahu as a convenient objection will still be in the coalition.” — The Jerusalem Post
Democratic Party party
As portrayed by the columnists, Democratic leaders say their dispute is with Netanyahu, not Israel, while the party's base and rising progressives move further against Israel. The columnists present this as a hedge between audiences.
“Schumer has also taken the same line about the dispute between Democrats and Israel being about Netanyahu.” — JNS
“Leaders can tell older voters and traditional donors that they still support Israel and object only to its present prime minister.” — The Jerusalem Post
Abdul El-Sayed person
Tobin describes El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan facing Republican Mike Rogers, as the most prominent opponent of Israel running in 2026. He says El-Sayed uses language such as "genocide" and attacks AIPAC. No response from El-Sayed is given.
“the most notorious and prominent opponent of the Jewish state running in 2026—Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Michigan Dr. Abdul El-Sayed” — JNS
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
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Right2 articles
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JNSR · · Opinion
The Democrats have abandoned Israel, not just Netanyahu
Critical Tobin's column argues Democrats from Obama to El-Sayed have broken with Israel and that blaming Netanyahu is a myth.
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The Jerusalem PostRC · · Opinion
Democrats say Netanyahu is the problem - but their opposition to Israel runs deeper - opinion
Critical Pilichowski's column presents the focus on Netanyahu as a postponement of a Democratic reckoning over the alliance with Israel.
- 15 Oct 01:45 First JNSR The Democrats have abandoned Israel, not just Netanyahu Opinion
- 18 Oct 00:20 +70h 35m The Jerusalem PostRC Democrats say Netanyahu is the problem - but their opposition to Israel runs deeper - opinion Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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