Yossi Schwartz, ISL(RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 04.11.2026
In September 2016, Obama pledged to donate $38 billion to Israel in 10 installments, an unprecedented $3.8 billion a year. On the day of the midterm elections, President Trump announced that there would be no more U.S. donations to Israel.
Trump’s announcement of the cancellation of the aid is not surprising. In the populist movement that he leads the MAGA; the base opposes any donation to a foreign country. When Netanyahu announced that Israel did not need a donation, he was in fact trying to preempt the blow because he knew by the time the MAGA position was already on the wall. But the end of sending American weapons to Israel is not the end. This is probably only the first step that will come from Washington.
On Jan. 3, a new Congress will be sworn in with a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, and possibly in the Senate as well. If the polls are correct, the Democratic majorities in both houses could significantly limit Trump’s moves to become a lame goose in American jargon.
Among young Republicans, support for military aid to Israel has fallen to 48 percent. This is a figure that concerns the separatist vice president, J.D. Vance, who is counting on young people to run for the White House in 2028.
A Gallup poll conducted in February found that Democratic voters oppose security aid to Israel by an overwhelming majority of 63%.
On February 28, the US and Israeli militaries went to war deep inside Iran. Multiple polls indicated a sharp decline in public opinion in both parties regarding support for Israel.
A Gallup poll found that support for Netanyahu and Israel among Republicans during the war dropped to 50 percent among voters over the age of 55. Only 6 percent of young Republicans aged 18 to 34 said they trusted Netanyahu in the war he was involved in.
About 80 percent of all Democrats expressed anger at being dragged into another war in the Middle East. An Associated Press poll found that a clear majority of 60 percent of Democrats blame Israel and believe Netanyahu has dragged the United States into war. A YouGov poll estimated that 61% of Democrats blame Netanyahu for damaging relations between the two countries. Sixty-eight percent said they would support Netanyahu’s arrest and extradition to The Hague.
About 80 percent of all Democrats expressed anger at being dragged into another war in the Middle East. An Associated Press poll found that a clear majority of 60 percent of Democrats blame Israel and believe Netanyahu has dragged the United States into war. The YouGov poll estimated that 61% of Democrats blame Netanyahu for damaging relations between the two countries. Sixty-eight percent said they would support Netanyahu’s arrest and extradition to The Hague. It should be remembered that the Netanyahu family is planning to flee to the United States when Israel collapses.
The election campaign that reached its peak yesterday is the watershed in support for Israel. Last April, Senator Bernie Sanders promoted a vote on two bills designed to ban the sale of weapons and bulldozers to Israel. “The Netanyahu government continues to destroy the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Lebanon. It wants bombs weighing 450 kilograms and worth $151 million, and bulldozers costing $295 million to demolish more homes in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank. American taxpayers fund the racist and extremist Netanyahu government. This needs to stop,” Sanders wrote.
Sanders has been making similar proposals consistently for years, and Israelis are used to dismissing him. But precisely because of his insistence on bringing the issue up for a vote every year, it makes it possible to trace the mood of the faction that is expected to take over Congress. In an identical vote just two years ago, 18 Democratic senators opposed arms sales to Israel. When Sanders repeated his proposal in 2025, the number of Democratic senators rose to 24. In the last vote in April of this year, Sanders had 36 senators out of 47.
The Democratic lawmakers, who are expected to enjoy majorities in both houses of Congress, are not expected to be satisfied with halting security aid to Israel. As early as 2024, a group of 17 senators and 71 members of Congress called for sanctions against Israeli government ministers who support violence in the West Bank, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Others have suggested denying visas to the U.S. to violent settlers.
Last September, members of Congress led by Joaquín Castro began talking about their desire to bring up proposals in the next Congress, first and foremost a boycott of Israeli companies operating in the West Bank. Senator Chris Van Hollen shared European initiatives to boycott the settlements on Network X, saying, “Finally, there are European countries that are not satisfied with condemnations and are implementing international law. While Trump condemns this, Congress must act.”
Congress’s ability to enact laws to push Israel and even punish it may be limited in practice, if Trump sits in the White House and wields the power to veto. But there is a good chance that Trump will lose the 2028 presidential election.
Congress’s ability to enact laws to push and even punish Israel may be limited in practice, if Trump sits in the White House and wields the power to veto. The midterm elections are an important milestone not only because of the new Congress, but also because they are the opening shot of the presidential election. If Trump is unpopular, Democrats are optimistic about occupying the White House in 2028.
The person considered the biggest potential star of today’s election is the Jewish Senator John Ossoff of Georgia. He also signed Sanders’ proposals in April, he declared:
“Hamas, a despicable terrorist organization, has started this horrific round,” he said, explaining his opposition to arms sales to Israel. I don’t think the U.S. Senate should come to terms with the situation of the civilians in Gaza, including the unbearable hunger of children. This is because of the policy of the Netanyahu government. Beyond that, it is a weapon that will find its way to the police under the control of Itamar Ben-Gvir.”
What we see is a similar process that took place in South Africa, however it is likely that the outcome will be the end of the Zionist state and not only the racist regime.