WASHINGTON – The foundation of American political support for Israel, long considered one of the most unshakeable pillars of U.S. foreign policy, is showing deep and unprecedented cracks. A deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, defined by horrific and widely circulated images of starving children, is fueling a wave of criticism on Capitol Hill that has fractured the traditional bipartisan consensus and forged an extraordinary new dynamic where some of Israel’s harshest rebukes are now coming not just from progressive Democrats, but from staunchly conservative, “America First” Republicans.
This erosion of support is no longer confined to the fringes; it is manifesting in formal legislative actions, including votes to block U.S. weapons sales and proposals to officially recognize a Palestinian state. The conflict has ignited a profound and uncomfortable debate within both parties, forcing a re-evaluation of a decades-old alliance. While it remains unclear if this signals a permanent philosophical realignment or a temporary protest against a specific, brutal chapter of the conflict, this much is clear: something fundamental is changing in the halls of Congress, and it is being driven by a growing sense of moral outrage that has transcended party lines.
The shift has been so significant that it has even altered the tone at the very top of the U.S. government. President Donald Trump, who has largely been a staunch defender of Israeli military action, recently gave his Republican allies significant political cover to voice their condemnations. Pointedly rejecting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims that there is no hunger crisis in Gaza, Trump acknowledged the grim reality.
“Based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry,” the president said last week. “There is real starvation in Gaza — you can’t fake that.”
The Democratic Divide Deepens
For Democrats, the current crisis has brought years of simmering tensions with Prime Minister Netanyahu to a boiling point. The relationship has been strained for many years, most notably since his 2015 address to a joint session of Congress where he openly blasted then-President Obama’s effort to forge a nuclear deal with Iran, a move many Democrats saw as a stunning breach of diplomatic protocol.
The tensions have only grown since Netanyahu formed the most far-right coalition government in Israeli history, a government whose key members are openly hostile to the two-state solution that Democrats, and official U.S. policy, deem the only workable path to a lasting peace.
“The worst thing for Israel, and the U.S.-Israel relationship, is for that relationship to become a partisan issue. And we’re finding it becoming a partisan issue,” said Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, one of Israel’s most vocal congressional defenders. “In no small part, a lot of the blame rests on the shoulders of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the actions he’s taken across many years.”
Democratic critics are quick to emphasize that their opposition is to the policies of the current Israeli government, not to the state of Israel itself or its right to self-defense, particularly in the wake of the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. But given their fraught history with Netanyahu, there has been little surprise that Democrats would pounce on his retaliatory response in Gaza, where the death toll has soared past 60,000 Palestinians.
“Should another government be voted into power that is interested in peace, I think the American people will support that government and the state of Israel,” said Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia, emphasizing the distinction.
This criticism has been backed by action. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont recently forced a vote on a resolution to block a major weapons sale to Israel. While it failed, it won the support of a majority of Democratic senators—a record number that sent a powerful message of discontent. In the House, Rep. Ro Khanna of California is circulating a letter urging the U.S. government to formally recognize a Palestinian state for the first time, an effort that has already won the endorsements of roughly a dozen liberal Democrats.
The Republican Rupture: The Rise of “America First” Isolationism
While the Democratic criticism is significant, it is the cracking of the Republican monolith that is truly stunning. For decades, unwavering support for Israel has been a bedrock principle of the GOP, a position its leaders have often used to highlight Democratic divisions by staging tough, pro-Israel votes.
That unity has now been broken. A small but vocal and influential contingent of conservative Republicans is now openly condemning Israel’s conduct of the war, and they are doing so by invoking the “America First” mantra that propelled Donald Trump to the presidency. Their brand of populist isolationism, which questions all foreign entanglements and aid, is shaking the foundations of the GOP’s traditional support for a muscular foreign policy.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a leading anti-interventionist voice, has been particularly sharp in his denunciations. “Israel’s war in Gaza is so lopsided that there’s no rational argument American taxpayers should be paying for it,” Massie posted recently on X. “With tens of thousands of civilian casualties, there’s a moral dilemma too. I vote to stop funding their war and lobbyists for Israel pay for campaign ads against me.”
If Massie’s was a lone voice, it could be easily dismissed. But last month, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a staunch conservative and one of President Trump’s closest allies, made waves when she forced a vote on legislation to block roughly $500 million in U.S. military aid to Israel. She stunned Washington again last week when she accused Israel of orchestrating a “genocide” against Palestinians, becoming the first Republican in Congress to apply the term to the Gaza War.
“There are children starving. And Christians have been killed and injured, as well as many innocent people. If you are an American Christian, this should be absolutely unacceptable to you,” Greene posted Thursday on X. “Are innocent Israeli lives more valuable than innocent Palestinian and Christian lives? And why should America continue funding this?”
A Reflection of a Shifting Public
Lawmakers in both parties suggest that this change on Capitol Hill is not happening in a vacuum; it is a direct reflection of a significant shift in the sentiments of their constituents back home.
“There’s been an attitudinal change on Capitol Hill because the Israeli government’s approval ratings by the people of the United States of America have been sinking. And they continue to sink, not just among Democratic voters but among Republican voters, as well,” said Rep. Johnson. “The problem for the Israeli government is that the American people know genocide when they see it.”
Rep. Schneider, while not using such charged language, acknowledged that the Israeli government is helping to drive the current “ebb” in the U.S.-Israel relationship through its actions in Gaza. “Two things can be true: Hamas has the power to end this war — this war is an absolute crisis for the Palestinian people — and Israel … has a responsibility to do everything it can to ensure that the people in Gaza are able to get the sustaining aid that they need,” he said.
As the crisis continues, the pressure on Capitol Hill is only expected to grow. A number of House lawmakers will be visiting Israel this month on separate congressional trips. While the participants are largely allies of Israel, other lawmakers are warning that if the Netanyahu government doesn’t act swiftly to resolve the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, its opponents in Washington will only multiply.
“If Netanyahu continues to overstep and intensifies the genocide, I think political support in the Congress will continue to drop, on both sides of the aisle,” Johnson warned. The once-unthinkable has now become a political reality, and the future of one of America’s most defining alliances hangs in the balance.
