Midterms show US shift on Israel policy

US midterm election results indicate a major break in the traditional alliance between Washington and Jerusalem.

President Donald Trump proposed reducing military aid to Israel at the end of the year. He argued the nation no longer required such support. The plan would replace nearly four billion dollars in annual aid with arms sales. This shift would maintain funding levels while making the process less transparent. The proposal drew criticism from pro-Palestinian advocates and pro-Israel supporters alike.

The incoming House of Representatives includes a diverse group of candidates with direct ties to the region. One member is an army doctor who participated in a medical mission in Gaza. Another is a lawyer dismissed from her firm for criticizing the war. A third is a Jewish lawmaker detained by Israeli forces while harvesting olives in the West Bank. A community organizer who joined pro-Palestine student encampments also won a primary seat. She campaigned under the slogan of babies not bombs.

In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. He won despite a campaign in which Aipac spent more than 40 million dollars to defeat him. The race featured high levels of Islamophobic rhetoric. Exit polls showed El-Sayed won a majority of Jewish voters in his state. In his acceptance speech, he said believing in equal rights to peace and dignity is an act of love, not hate.

The Gaza conflict has reshaped American politics. More than 70,000 Palestinians have died in the war. Many observers have described the conflict as a genocide. Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine/Israel Program at the Arab Center Washington DC, said voters connected the failures of the Iran war with rising costs at gas and grocery stores. This made foreign policy a direct concern for daily life.

Aipac admitted last month that its open support was hurting its candidates. The organization announced it would stop making direct endorsements. Pro-Palestinian candidates defeated pro-Israel opponents in various districts. Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, said the results open the door for Congress to consider an arms embargo or sanctions against violent settlers.

Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, noted that Democrats have historically excluded candidates with progressive values on Palestine. Matt Duss, executive vice-president of the Center for International Policy, argued that Democrats must now position themselves as the party opposed to war. He noted that Trump won in 2024 as an anti-war candidate because Democrats left that space open.