2026-07-29T05:04:24.881Z / reuters.com
华盛顿7月29日路透电——数十年来，支持以色列一直是华盛顿两党的共识。如今，以色列对加沙的军事行动、与伊朗的对峙，以及总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡与美国共和党人的紧密联系，正在侵蚀民主党对以支持，或将美国最亲密的盟友之一关系变成党派分歧的导火索。
民主党选民对以色列的支持率大幅下滑，批评以色列的候选人在民主党初选中获胜，就连温和派议员也越来越愿意挑战美国数十年来对以支持的既定政策。
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这一转变在国会中已显现迹象。本月，近半数众议院民主党议员投票支持一项终止对以援助的修正案，该修正案最终未获通过，而在过去，这类法案很可能会以压倒性的两党多数票击败。以色列每年可获得38亿美元的美国军事援助，近年来还获得了数十亿美元的紧急拨款。
众议院民主党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯及其部分副手反对这项修正案，称其范围过于宽泛。但前议长南希·佩洛西和众议院民主党党鞭凯瑟琳·克拉克都投了赞成票。
民主党内部在军事援助是否应维持现状、是否应限制仅提供防御性武器，或是应彻底停止援助的问题上分歧日益加剧。
参议院外交关系委员会资深民主党议员、特拉华州参议员克里斯·库恩斯表示，他希望以色列10月的选举有助于恢复两党对以的跨党派支持，同时开启内塔尼亚胡领导时期之外的新篇章。
“新政府可以改变方向，”库恩斯对路透社说道，并补充道，“内塔尼亚胡多年来让以色列一直处于战争状态，部分原因是为了逃避其政策选择带来的政治后果。”
公众对以色列的整体看法正在转变。昆尼皮亚克大学6月的一项民调显示，48%的选民和66%的民主党人认为美国对以色列的支持过度，而2017年该问题首次被提出时，这一比例分别仅为16%和20%。
“确实存在激烈的辩论，但在两党的广泛群体中，对以色列的支持仍牢牢处于主流地位，”以色列驻联合国大使丹尼·达农在接受采访时表示。
以色列成为密歇根民主党竞选的焦点议题
这一转变将在周二密歇根州民主党联邦参议员初选中接受重大考验，该州选民将权衡美国对以支持的不同立场，而越来越多的民主党议员正对长期以来的美国军事援助提出质疑。
进步派候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔赛义德与联邦众议员黑利·史蒂文斯之间的竞选，将决定谁将在11月与共和党人迈克·罗杰斯对决，同时也反映了民主党内部围绕以色列问题和长期美国军事支持的广泛辩论。
史蒂文斯曾与美国以色列公共事务委员会（AIPAC）合作拍摄视频，该组织是其竞选活动的主要捐赠者，她辩称，与以色列保持密切关系“带来了贸易，促进了经济增长，也保障了我们的自由安全”。
相比之下，前公共卫生官员埃尔赛义德对福克斯新闻表示：“问题在于，我们是否想要这样一种政治：我们的钱被送到以色列，用于资助种族灭绝和种族隔离，而不是投资于我们自己的下一代。”
联合国的一项调查和多个人权组织指控以色列在其军事打击加沙的行动中犯下种族灭绝罪，以色列对此予以否认，称其正在对抗哈马斯，并采取措施减少平民伤亡。
以色列的政策也成为其他关键国会选区竞选的影响因素，包括纽约州、佛罗里达州和科罗拉多州。
民主党对以支持率下滑
与民主党之间的紧张关系在11年前就已加剧，当时应共和党多数派的邀请，内塔尼亚胡在国会发表演讲，抨击时任民主党总统巴拉克·奥巴马达成的伊朗核计划管控协议。
在2023年10月7日哈马斯领导的袭击事件后，以色列对加沙发动战争，公众对以色列的批评情绪升温。此次袭击造成近1200名以色列人和外国公民死亡，数百人被劫持为人质。据加沙卫生部门统计，此后已有超过7.3万名巴勒斯坦人丧生。
以色列对加沙的轰炸重塑了美国民主党政治格局，激起了年轻选民的强烈反对，并加剧了民主党内部的代际分歧。
2024年的校园抗议活动进一步向民主党施压，要求其重新评估对以支持。一些分析人士称，总统乔·拜登拒绝调整政策，导致民主党候选人卡玛拉·哈里斯在同年晚些时候败选给特朗普。
加剧紧张局势的是，纽约市长佐赫兰·曼达尼呼吁以战争罪逮捕内塔尼亚胡。
在本次初选周期中，一些建制派候选人在质疑对以支持的进步派挑战者面前落败，这类情况大多出现在民主党占主导的国会选区。
杰里米·本-阿米是J Street的主席，该组织是与AIPAC对立的进步派亲以色列团体。他表示，民主党内部的辩论反映了对右翼内塔尼亚胡和AIPAC的反弹，称这是“一种极具破坏性的组合，不幸地让以色列成为了民主党内部真正的分裂议题”。
AIPAC未回应置评请求。
马里兰大学政府与政治学教授、布鲁金斯学会资深非常驻研究员希布尔·特尔哈米称，这是一场“范式转变，如今以色列被视为恶棍，甚至是种族灭绝式的恶棍，这是前所未有的”。
特尔哈米在采访中表示，虽然一些保守派影响力人士也加入了批评行列，但只要福音派基督徒和特朗普的立场不变，共和党就会继续支持以色列。
以色列重塑政治竞选战场
围绕以色列的分歧正蔓延到其他地区的国会竞选。
共和党籍众议员迈克·劳勒代表纽约市郊区一个犹太人口众多的选区，他利用民主党在以色列问题上的立场转变，攻击挑战者凯特·康利，这场竞选将决定众议院控制权的归属。
在佛罗里达州南部，一贯支持对以军事援助的温和派众议员贾里德·莫斯科维茨，在8月18日的民主党初选中受到民主社会主义者奥利弗·拉金的挑战。拉金的竞选主张是以色列在加沙犯下了种族灭绝罪，并支持立即暂停美国对以军事援助。
近期民调显示，莫斯科维茨以32个百分点的优势领先拉金。
资深联邦众议员戴安娜·德盖特在科罗拉多州民主党初选中被埃塞俄比亚裔候选人梅拉特·基罗斯击败。基罗斯呼吁结束包括停止对以军事援助在内的所有战争，而德盖特则表示她支持仅向以色列提供防御性武器。
倡导两国解决方案并为巴勒斯坦人争取更多人道主义援助的联邦参议员马齐·希罗诺表示：“我认为，支持以色列生存权的立场依然存在。我们真正质疑的只是（以色列的）领导层。”
报道：马特·斯佩塔尼克、帕特里夏·曾格尔、理查德·考恩（华盛顿），艾米丽·罗斯、玛扬·卢贝尔（耶路撒冷）；编辑：迈克尔·勒尔蒙特、霍华德·戈勒
Israel’s decades-old US support risks losing Democrats
2026-07-29T05:04:24.881Z / reuters.com
WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) – For generations, support for Israel united Washington. Now Israel’s attacks on Gaza, the Iran war and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close ties to U.S. Republicans are eroding Democratic backing, threatening to turn one of America’s closest alliances into a partisan divide.
Support for Israel among Democratic voters has plummeted, candidates critical of Israel are winning Democratic primaries and even moderate lawmakers are increasingly willing to challenge decades of U.S. support for Israel.
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The shift is evident in Congress. This month, nearly half of House Democrats voted for a failed amendment to cut off aid to Israel, legislation that once likely would have been defeated by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. Israel receives $3.8 billion annually in U.S. military aid and received billions more in emergency funds in recent years.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and some of his lieutenants opposed the measure, calling it overly broad. But former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark were among those voting yes.
Democrats are increasingly divided over whether military aid should continue unchanged, be restricted to defensive weapons or be halted altogether.
U.S. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he hopes Israeli elections in October help restore bipartisan U.S. support while opening a new chapter beyond Netanyahu’s leadership.
“New governments get to change direction,” Coons told Reuters, adding, “Netanyahu has kept Israel at war for years now, partly to avoid the political consequences of his choices.”
Overall sentiment toward Israel is declining. A June Quinnipiac University poll found 48% of voters and 66% of Democrats believe the United States is too supportive of Israel, up from 16% and 20% when the question was first asked in 2017.
“Yes, there is a vigorous debate, but across broad segments of the parties, support for Israel remains firmly in the mainstream,” said Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, in an interview.
ISRAEL A FLASHPOINT IN MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC RACE
The shift faces a major test in Tuesday’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Michigan where voters will weigh competing visions of U.S. support with growing numbers of congressional Democrats questioning longstanding U.S. military aid.
The race between progressive Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Representative Haley Stevens will determine who faces Republican Mike Rogers in November and reflects the wider Democratic debate over Israel and longstanding U.S. military support.
Stevens made a video with AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major donor to her campaign, arguing that a close relationship with Israel “yields trade, that yields economic growth and that keeps our freedoms safe.”
By contrast, El-Sayed, a former public health official, told Fox News: “The question is whether we want a politics where our money is sent over to Israel to fund genocide and apartheid instead of investing in our own kids.”
A U.N. inquiry and several human rights groups have accused Israel of committing genocide in its military’s devastation of Gaza, an allegation Israel rejects, saying it is fighting Hamas and taking steps to reduce civilian harm.
Israeli policy has been a factor in other battleground congressional races, including New York, Florida and Colorado.
DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL ERODES
Strains with Democrats deepened 11 years ago, when in a speech to Congress at the request of the Republican majority Netanyahu attacked a deal crafted by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, on controlling Iran’s nuclear program.
Sentiment critical of Israel grew after Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, in which nearly 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed and hundreds were taken hostage. More than 73,000 Palestinians have since been killed, according to Gaza health officials.
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has reshaped Democratic politics, fueling a backlash among younger voters and deepening a generational divide within the party.
Campus protests in 2024 intensified pressure on Democrats to reassess support for Israel. Some analysts say President Joe Biden’s refusal to do so contributed to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ loss to Trump later that year.
Adding to tensions, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes.
This primary election cycle, some establishment candidates have been defeated by more progressive challengers who have questioned support for Israel, mostly in congressional districts dominated by Democrats.
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a progressive pro-Israel rival to AIPAC, said the debate within the Democratic Party reflected a backlash against the right-wing Netanyahu and AIPAC, calling it “a toxic brew that really has helped to make Israel, unfortunately, a real wedge issue in the Democratic Party.”
AIPAC did not respond to requests for comment.
Shibley Telhami, a University of Maryland professor of government and politics and senior non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, called it a “paradigm shift that sees Israel now as a villain, even a genocidal villain, in a way that was never the case before.”
While some conservative influencers have joined the attack, the Republican Party will support Israel as long as evangelical Christians and Trump stand firm, Telhami said in an interview.
ISRAEL RESHAPES POLITICAL BATTLEGROUNDS
The divide over Israel is spilling into congressional campaigns elsewhere.
Republican Representative Mike Lawler, who represents a district outside New York City with a large Jewish population, has used the Democratic shift on Israel to attack challenger Cait Conley in a battleground fight for control of the House.
In southern Florida, moderate Representative Jared Moskowitz, a consistent supporter of Israel aid, is being challenged in the August 18 Democratic primary by democratic socialist Oliver Larkin, who campaigns on his belief that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and supports an immediate suspension of U.S. military aid to Israel.
Recent opinion polls show Moskowitz leading Larkin by 32 percentage points.
Longtime U.S. Representative Diana DeGette was defeated in the Colorado Democratic primary by Ethiopian-born Melat Kiros. Kiros has called for ending wars, including by stopping military aid to Israel, while DeGette said she supported sending only defensive weapons to Israel.
U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono, who has advocated for a two-state solution and more humanitarian aid for Palestinians, said, “I think the support for Israel’s right to exist, all of that is there. It’s just the (Israeli) leadership we seriously question.”
Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan in Washington and Emily Rose and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; editing by Michael Learmonth and Howard Goller