US-Israel alliance pushed toward a bitter Democratic split over Gaza war and Netanyahu

Support for Israel among US Democrats is significantly eroding due to Israel's actions in Gaza, the Iran war, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's alignment with Republicans, threatening to turn a long-standing bipartisan alliance into a partisan divide. This shift is evident in Congress, where nearly half of House Democrats recently voted to cut aid to Israel, a measure that would have previously failed overwhelmingly. A June Quinnipiac University poll indicated that 66% of Democrats believe the US is too supportive of Israel, a substantial increase from 20% in 2017.

• The debate is playing out in Democratic primaries, such as the Michigan Senate race, where candidates offer competing visions on US support for Israel.
• Senator Chris Coons expressed hope that future Israeli elections might restore bipartisan US support, stating, "New governments get to change direction."
• The strain deepened after Netanyahu's 2015 speech to Congress criticizing the Iran nuclear deal and intensified following Israel's war in Gaza, which has fueled a backlash among younger voters and progressive Democrats.
• Analysts like Shibley Telhami describe this as a "paradigm shift that sees Israel now as a villain, even a genocidal villain, in a way that was never the case before."