For generations, support for Israel was one of the few foreign policy issues that could still bridge Washington’s partisan divide. Democrats and Republicans may have argued bitterly on everything from taxes to immigration, but backing Israel remained a durable expression of U.S. consensus, reinforced by military aid, shared strategic interests and the political strength of pro-Israel advocacy groups.
This consensus appears to be fracturing in a way that looks more like a breaking point than a brief stumble. Support for Israel within the democratic party has eroded significantly due to the war in Gaza, the new threat posed by the confrontation with Iran, and the Prime Minister of Israel’s increasing closeness to the Republican Party in the United States. This change is evident not just through polls but also through changes in the political rhetoric of Democrats themselves.
Support for Israel within the party has declined, candidates hostile to Israel are becoming more competitive in democratic primaries, and even congressmen and senators previously considered to be reliably pro-Israel have become more vocal about their questions regarding aid and the overall relationship with the Israeli government. A policy which once enjoyed broad bipartisan agreement seems to be emerging as a live issue in the democratic party.
Gaza war changes politics
The war in Gaza has been the primary driving force behind the growing distance between America and Israel. The Israeli offensive was initiated following the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israeli and other nationals and abducted hundreds. Over 73,000 Palestinians have died in the Gaza War according to Gaza health officials, and the sheer magnitude of destruction has transformed the perception of the war among Americans. The war has been watched live on television and social media, especially by young people, and their sympathy with the sufferings of Palestinians has made support for Israel a politically risky act for the Democrats like never before.
This fact is reflected in opinion polls. According to Gallup, favorability towards Israel among Democrats dropped from 63% in 2022 to 56% in 2023, 47% in 2024, and only 33% in 2025, and 60% of Democrats now have an unfavorable opinion of Israel. At the same time, Gallup reported a 50-point partisan gap, as 83% of Republicans viewed Israel favorably. Other polls indicate the same trend – Reuters reported a Quinnipiac poll where 66% of Democrats considered US support of Israel too strong, compared to only 20% who thought so in 2017.
Netanyahu widens divide
Netanyahu’s role in the political fallout is difficult to separate from the war itself. Democratic resentment has been compounded by the Israeli leader’s close ties to Republicans and his repeated clashes with Democratic presidents, most notably his 2015 address to Congress at the invitation of the Republican majority, when he attacked Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. To many Democrats, Netanyahu is no longer just an Israeli prime minister defending his country; he is a polarizing figure who has become associated with hard-right politics at home and partisan maneuvering in Washington.
That perception was echoed in the Reuters report’s description of the political mood.
“Netanyahu has kept Israel at war for years now, partly to avoid the political consequences of his choices,”
Senator Chris Coons said, arguing that new Israeli elections could offer a chance to reset relations. At the same time, Jewish Democratic leaders warned that Netanyahu’s embrace of Donald Trump has clouded how some Americans view Israel. Halie Soifer of the Jewish Democratic Council of America said,
“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s close alignment with Donald Trump has clouded the way some see Israel.”
Party line grows fragile
The decline in support for the Democratic Party is no longer limited to activism and campus politics; it is starting to affect the actions of elected officials, even those who used to consider pro-Israel policies a political necessity. In Congress, almost half of House Democrats have voted on an unsuccessful amendment to defund aid to Israel, which would have been impossible to conceive in a similar number of Democrats a few years ago.
While the vote did not end the military aid to Israel, it showed that the old bipartisan umbrella protecting Israel from criticism has weakened to the extent that the Democrats themselves are internally divided between those supporting the continuation of the aid to Israel, some form of limitation to its purely defensive nature, and others who support ending the military aid completely. It became a key political question for the Democratic Party. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, along with a few other supporters, voted against the amendment, while Nancy Pelosi and Katherine Clark were some of the Democrats who supported it.
Primaries reflect anger
The clearest evidence of the change may be found in Democratic primaries, where anti-war and pro-Palestinian candidates are testing the party’s traditional alliances. In Michigan, the Democratic Senate primary became a test case for the new politics of Israel, pitting progressive Abdul El-Sayed against Representative Haley Stevens. Stevens aligned herself with AIPAC and argued that close ties with Israel support trade, economic growth and security. El-Sayed, by contrast, said,
“The question is whether we want a politics where our money is sent over to Israel to fund genocide and apartheid instead of investing in our own kids.”
This kind of language once sat far outside mainstream Democratic campaigning. Now it is part of the debate in major races, especially in districts dominated by Democrats. Reuters reported that Israeli policy is also affecting congressional contests in New York, Florida and Colorado, where candidates are being pushed to explain whether U.S. aid should continue and under what conditions. The trend matters because primary electorates are often more ideologically intense than general-election voters, meaning the party’s future position could shift further as older pro-Israel habits give way to newer skepticism.
Generational shift deepens
The split in partisanship is also becoming a generational split, but perhaps not in the straightforward sense many commentators initially thought. According to Brookings, whereas young people are increasingly hostile towards Israel after the Gaza war, older democrats are also taking the same stance, thus dispelling the notion that this is only a youthful rebellion against authority. Pew polling data presented by Brookings indicated that negative attitudes towards Israel increased from 53% in 2022 to 69% among democrats, with the increase from 43% to 66% in democrats above 50 years of age. This is an indication that the trend is wider than the initial cycle of protests. This is even reflected in sympathy questions as well. Brookings highlighted Chicago Council polls which show that sympathy for Israelis amongst democrats declined from 51% to 41% while sympathy for Palestinians increased to 59%.
Republicans stay firm
Republicans, by contrast, remain largely intact in their support for Israel, even as there are signs of strain at the margins. Gallup found Republican favorability unchanged at about 83%, and Brookings reported that Republican support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza has remained relatively stable, holding at about 71%. That stability matters because it means support for Israel is now much more closely identified with the Republican Party than with the Democratic coalition, even if many Democratic leaders continue to insist that their party remains pro-Israel in principle.
This does not mean Republican support is entirely monolithic. Some conservatives have grown more critical of foreign aid, and the strain of long wars can still influence the GOP’s politics. But the broader picture is clear: evangelical Christians, Trump’s backing and longstanding conservative sympathy have kept the Republican base anchored, while Democrats have moved rapidly in the opposite direction. The result is a widening partisan gap that is no longer just about policy nuance; it is becoming part of each party’s identity.
Bipartisan consensus fades
The ultimate effect of all of the above-mentioned developments is institutional. For many years, the American backing of Israel was built upon a bipartisan approach that made sure that foreign policy actions were protected from the fluctuations of domestic politics. However, such an approach is deteriorating due to the fact that voters and legislators start understanding the Israeli-Palestinian dispute through the prism of partisanship, generational politics and moralistic indignation.
This kind of understanding makes people question something that used to be taken for granted, namely, how strong and what kind of support should the US offer Israel and at what political price. This question is unlikely to go away any time soon because of the recent events, such as the Gaza war, tensions with Iran, Netanyahu’s relationship with the Republicans and Democrats’ discontent. All the polls and primaries as well as the behavior of Congress indicate that the US foreign policy concerning Israel is changing and, therefore, Israel is not only a foreign policy but also a partisan issue in Washington, while Democratic backing of Israel is the most obvious sign of it.
