Trump may be good for Netanyahu, but not for Israel - opinion

The recently published Mitvim Foreign Policy Index as in every year is a useful tool for policy and public opinion practitioners. The 2024 index demonstrates public Israeli support for the regional approach espoused by the Democratic Biden administration as the optimal response to the national and personal security challenges emerging from the Oct. 7 atrocities. 

However, only 14% of respondents said they prefer Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to Republican Donald Trump, reflecting Israeli confusion between American support for their country and its support for the Netanyahu government.

This confusion is evident in the average rating given by Mitvim survey respondents to current Israel-US relations. At 5.7 out of 10, it is only slightly higher than the 2023 average of 5.3, but much lower than the score given to relations during the Trump presidency. 

Despite the extensive security assistance since Oct. 7, the cooperation in defending Israel from Iranian missiles, and the intense efforts to bring about the release of the hostages held by Hamas, Israelis are still captives of the perception that Israel-US relations are measured first and foremost by the relationships between the two countries’ leaders. They interpret US administration criticism of the Netanyahu government as lack of support for Israel, although quite the opposite is true.

As a longtime student and practitioner in the field of US-Israel relations, I find a direct contradiction between Israelis’ preference for Trump and their understanding that relations with the US are vital for their country, as is an accommodation with the Palestinians. In fact, the public clearly realizes Israel’s interest in supporting the Biden Doctrine and turning the tragedy of October 7 into an opportunity to boost Israel’s security through regional arrangements. This makes the fear of Harris and backing for Trump all the more troubling and in need of correction.

Harris's campaign emphasizes commitment to Israel’s security

The confusion stems from ignorance regarding the two candidates and reflects the successful efforts by the Israeli and American political Right to portray Harris as ideologically or politically aligned with the most extreme progressives in the Democratic Party and among its voters. The reality couldn’t be more different. 

Harris is committed to Israel’s security and has proven so throughout her long career as California’s attorney-general and senator and Biden’s vice president. She is expected to follow Biden’s foreign policy guidelines, meaning deep commitment to Israel’s security, but equally deep concern over the damage to Israel and the United States caused by the policies of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. This is the mainstream position of the Democratic Party and the American Jewish community.

Harris's campaign clearly demonstrated during the Democratic convention in Chicago that she does not intend to be politically swayed by Democrats who oppose the Biden administration’s support for Israel. The party’s platform also makes this abundantly clear, emphasizing its commitment to Israel’s security.

The Republican Party, meanwhile, consists in large part of Evangelicals (some 80% of them voted for Trump) and foreign policy isolationists whose support and commitment to Israel’s survival is questionable. Evangelicals believe that the second coming of Christ can only be achieved through a chaotic war in which most of us will die and the rest will convert to Christianity. For now, they want Israel to be a Jewish ethnocracy and the United States a white supremacist Christian one.

The isolationists, driven by the Trump mantra of Make America Great Again (MAGA Republicans), only support policies deemed immediately beneficial to the US itself, do not think America should be the leader of the free world, and are willing to abandon alliances with Ukraine, NATO, South Korea, Taiwan, and yes, even with Israel. Trump’s voter pool, along with his misogynistic and racist worldview and his personal narcissism, make for a dangerous combination of an untrustworthy and unpredictable leader.

The liberal camp in Israel must make it clear to the public that a Harris presidency holds out great hope for their country, while Trump’s is a clear and present danger. Jewish American voters appear to be realizing this. The vast majority of the American Jewish community will undoubtedly support Harris and the implementation of the Biden Doctrine. 

Opposition leaders must now help Israeli voters understand that Netanyahu and Trump will only distance us from a calm and safe life here, and that the time has come for us to support the Biden Doctrine for the sake of Israelis, Palestinians, the peoples of the region, the United States and the entire free world. 

The writer is a Mitvim Institute board member and CEO of J Street Israel.