Yossi Schwartz, ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 09.10.2026
Dennis Russo and David Makovsky write today in the freely(as in no cost) distributed right-wing newspaper:
“The in-depth data reveals an even more disturbing picture. According to a New York Times poll, 63 percent of Democrats ages 18 to 29 think the Democratic Party is too supportive of Israel, and 72 percent of Republicans ages 18 to 29 think Trump is too supportive of Israel. The Pew poll mentioned above found that in both parties, most respondents under the age of 50 now have a negative opinion of Israel.
Although support for Israel remains strong among older Republicans, the fact that Vice President Jay Vance is comfortable emphasizing that U.S. interests cannot be “subordinate” to Israeli interests reflects the way he reads the changing political map.
In other words, this is not a problem limited to progressive Democrats. The reasons for the decline in support for Israel vary across the political spectrum. While progressive Democrats focus their attention on the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, some right-wing elements affiliated with Trump’s MAGA movement accuse Israel of waging war with Iran.
Extremist violence against Palestinians provides a significant tailwind to those who seek to portray Israel as a country that does not share American values, and where the rule of law does not exist. Attacks on Palestinian villages are widely covered in the United States and provoke outrage. Prime Minister Netanyahu and others claim only a few are involved in the attacks, but that seems irrelevant given the continued attacks. Last week, for example, more than 100 Israeli extremists attacked the village of Jalud as the Zionist army claims that it tried to repatriate a Palestinian family. “[i]
And while Israel’s isolation is getting worse every day, and not only the enormous and wonderful pro-Palestinian movement is calling for an end to the Zionist monster and the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state from the sea to the river in its place, but even the liberal Green Party has adopted this position.
At the time, Ta’al chairman and Joint List senior partner Knesset member Ahmad Tibi declared that the Joint List was ready to take unprecedented steps to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from forming a government or remaining interim prime minister.
Tibi did this on several occasions:
In interviews with the media, including on this week’s Haaretz podcast and Kan Reshet Bet, Tibi made it clear that his party aims to end Netanyahu’s rule and will support political and parliamentary moves it previously opposed.
Tibi explicitly stated that the main goal is to prevent Netanyahu from serving as interim prime minister if the country faces political indecision.
The steps mentioned included recommending to the president a leading candidate from the Change bloc with the best chances of forming a coalition, as well as immediate action after the elections to replace the current Knesset Speaker, Amir Ohana.
Tibi did not fully detail the practical steps or officially clarify whether the party would accept external support or participate directly in a future coalition. But the trend of political support for the Change Bloc, even though the bloc boycotts the Joint List and supported the disqualification of Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh, is clear.
Eisenkot (the national camp) usually supports forming a broad national consensus government based on Zionist parties and does not lead the line of forming a coalition based on Arab parties.
For the ISL, Balad’s entry into the Joint List, when it has the option after the elections not to give any support to a Zionist government, raises the question for us whether to vote critically for the Joint List, and we are waiting for further clarifications.
The only way to end the right-wing Zionist government is not via the Zionist parliament but through the mass struggle of all the Palestinians together with the Arab revolution. This last option means for the joint list to form a united front formation against Zionism.
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.israelhayom.co.il/opinions/article/21585406