President Trump’s ill-advised decision to withdraw from Syria should be viewed in the context of two broader developments. In terms of foreign policy, both the Republicans and the Democrats are moving from international engagement to neo-isolationism; and strategically, the Pentagon is shifting from the war on terror to a renewed focus on Russia and China.

Three leading Democratic presidential candidates recently threatened to use US military aid to Israel as leverage to force changes in Israeli relations with the Palestinians. Their statements were hypocritical and ignored both the value of military aid to the US military and defense industries and the realities of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The threats should be seen in the wider context of growing antagonism within the Democratic party toward Israel. The next Israeli government will have to address this challenge.     

The recent farce surrounding the non-visit of US Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to Israel highlighted the pernicious self-delusion and zero-sum exclusion of the BDS worldview, which polarizes American politics regarding Israel.

How unusual was Israel’s refusal to allow Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib to enter Israel to engage in hostile political activity? Not very, based on a comparison with the UK.

Israeli PM Netanyahu was right to bar the entry of Muslim Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. Both are radical anti-Israelis and supporters of the BDS movement, whose end goal is Israel’s destruction. Their visit to the territories would have been an anti-Israel circus goaded on by the international media. Leaders of the Democratic Party understand that if their party moves toward the radical left, as exemplified by Tlaib and Omar, they will lose their chance to reclaim the White House next year.

While the Trump presidency has forced clarity in the US on many domestic and foreign policy issues, the status of Israel in American politics and culture reveals different visions of America itself. One, for lack of a better term, is traditionally American. The other is decidedly “progressive.” But according to both, Israel is mythical and outsized.

The American public has historically strongly supported Israel, especially since the 1967 Six Day War. This support substantially contributed to the establishment and development of a “special relationship” between the two countries. The Gallup Poll, the first and the most reputable polling organization in the US, has been measuring American attitudes towards Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict since before the establishment of Israel. The long-term trends on several issues show constant growth in public support. The 2018 survey reveals record scores in favor of Israel, but also a few weaknesses.   

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Much is being written against the ultra-orthodox fiat over prayer and conversion in Israel, emphasizing the potential consequences if the US “diaspora” were to take offense and become irreversibly alienated. But the US is not Israel’s periphery. American Jewry is not Israel’s diaspora, and no Jew in the US lives in exile. Israel must adapt to modern times – in faith, as it does in technology – first and foremost, for the sake of its own citizenry. It must take a firm, fair, and inclusive position on who is and is not a Jew, who is and is not an Israeli, and how the two attributes can reconcile in a modern pluralistic democracy.