RSS
US Ambassador to Israel Warns American Support for Jewish State at Risk in Coming Years
Former US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be the next US ambassador to Israel on Capitol Hill, Washington, US, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
Continued bipartisan support in the US for Israel could be at risk in the coming years, US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew warned this week.
While giving a speech at Reichman University in Israel, Lew said that fringe elements of both the Democratic and Republican parties could corrode American support for the Jewish state.
“There are risks — in both the right and the left — of erosion on the margins that only makes it more important for there to be bipartisan support,” Lew said at Reichman University on Tuesday.
Polling indicates Americans on the far left and far right are generally much more critical of the Jewish state, as are younger voters, than their older counterparts, mirroring trends seen in Europe.
“The question is, when you have generational change, will that be true 10 years, 20 years, 30 years from now,” Lew stated.
In an era of intensifying polarization, maintaining bipartisan support for any individual issue is difficult, Lew claimed. The ambassador urged leaders in the United States not to allow Israel to become a divisive and heavily-partisan issue.
“In the context of an America which is increasingly polarized, it’s harder to have bipartisan support,” Lew said. “It’s critical that [Israel] not become a partisan issue in the United States.”
The ambassador argued that Israel can maintain its support by winning over moderates from both sides of the political aisle. Though the more extreme members of the Democratic and Republican parties might be susceptible to anti-Zionism, centrist lawmakers are more likely to see the value in standing alongside an American ally with shared values, Lew stated.
“You don’t need either party to be 100 percent if you’ve got most of both. And that’s where the support for Israel is. It’s probably still close to 70 percent,” Lew said.
Lew urged Israeli leaders to minimize conflict with American lawmakers by understanding both parties share similar interests.
“My view is you try to keep the daylight to a minimum, not look for things that exaggerate how much space there is,” Lew said.
Lew warned that support for the Jewish state is especially eroding among young liberals. He argued that Israel has more “work to do” in bolstering support among future generations of Americans on both sides of the political spectrum.
He also lamented that the “enemies of Israel” are successfully demonizing the Jewish state to young Americans.
“The images in America are brutal. There are enemies of Israel that are actively telling the story in a very negative way,” Lew said.
American intelligence agencies revealed this week that Iran has encouraged and funded high-pressure disinformation campaigns among US citizens to tarnish Israel’s reputation.
In his remarks, the ambassador batted down allegations that Israel has not taken steps to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, pointing out that the Jewish state has delivered much-needed aid into the war-torn enclave.
“We work day and night to make sure things like humanitarian assistance are provided. And Israel needs to tell the story that it is making sure that people are getting what they need for there not to be a famine,” Lew added.
Polls have surfaced in recent months suggesting that support for Israel may deteriorate with future generations of Americans. A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that 47 percent of Democrats between the ages of 18-29 sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis. Only 7 percent of Democrats within the same age group said they sympathized with Israelis more than Palestinians. Among Republicans aged 18-29, 28 percent said they sympathized more with Israelis than Palestinians, and 12 percent reported having more sympathy for the Palestinians.
The post US Ambassador to Israel Warns American Support for Jewish State at Risk in Coming Years first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.