The US midterm elections have barely ended, and already the obituaries for the US-Israel relationship are being written. Democratic Party gains have prompted warnings that Israel is losing America, that bipartisan support is finished, and that the alliance is approaching its expiration date.
Such predictions confuse political change with strategic collapse. Nevertheless, dismissing every warning would be equally irresponsible. Israel faces a different American political landscape, and its response must combine confidence about the relationship’s foundations with urgency about strengthening them.
Much of the discussion in Israel and the Jewish world focuses on a handful of far-left Democrats, including politicians associated with the Democratic Socialists of America. Their hostility deserves scrutiny, particularly when it moves far beyond criticism of an Israeli government into opposition to Jewish sovereignty itself.
Nevertheless, treating these figures as representative of every Democratic voter or legislator gives them influence beyond their numbers and obscures the allies Israel still has.
Democrats are not a single ideological bloc. The party includes moderates who regard Israel as an important American partner and understand that intelligence sharing, technological cooperation and commercial ties benefit their constituents.
Alongside the broad Republican Party constituency for the alliance, these Democrats remain essential partners. The task now is to identify areas where that support can produce durable achievements, rather than declare the entire party beyond reach.
Democratic control of Congress changes the calculations, bringing new committee leadership, oversight priorities and potential disputes over funding.
It does not automatically erase the interests connecting the countries. Nor should every disagreement over arms transfers, military operations or diplomatic strategy be treated as evidence that a politician rejects the alliance.
Israel needs the judgment to distinguish difficult friends from determined opponents.
There remains substantial work that can be accomplished during President Donald Trump’s final two years. The greater uncertainty concerns what follows. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has a longstanding record of support for Israel, while Vice President JD Vance approaches foreign policy through a more explicitly restrained conception of American interests.
Many in Jerusalem would find Rubio’s approach more reassuring, but neither the Republican nomination nor the next administration’s policies should be treated as settled.
'One of our most important alliances'
Vance himself has called the relationship “one of our most important alliances in the world,” while stressing the need to explain its benefits to Americans increasingly skeptical of it.
Israel should take both parts seriously. His support matters, and so does his warning that inherited loyalties will not sustain public consent indefinitely.
The case for cooperation must be made afresh to each generation.
The Democratic contest will bring its own uncertainty. Progressives will interpret midterm electoral gains as evidence that their agenda can win beyond traditionally liberal strongholds, while moderates will argue that national victory requires a broader coalition.
Neither interpretation should be accepted without examining individual races and candidates. What Israel cannot afford is a strategy resting on the assumption that the most familiar or sympathetic contender will prevail.
The practical conclusion is nonetheless clear. Israel should use the next two years to make the relationship more resilient to changes in leadership.
That begins with consistently demonstrating what Americans gain. Intelligence cooperation helps identify threats; joint defense development strengthens military capabilities; investment and trade support employment; and Israeli research contributes to advances in medicine, agriculture, water management and cybersecurity.
These benefits need recognizable American examples, not merely enthusiastic declarations from Jerusalem.
The familiar metaphor of Israel as an unsinkable American aircraft carrier captures its strategic geography and historic alliance, but the modern relationship extends far beyond that image.
Israel is also a research partner, a source of operational experience and a contributor to technologies with civilian and military applications. Its strongest argument in Washington is that cooperation advances American security and prosperity while serving as a reliable regional partner.
That argument must acquire institutional weight. Friends of the relationship should pursue bipartisan legislation supporting joint research, industrial cooperation and long-term defense planning.
Both governments should expand cooperation agreements, while universities, hospitals and companies establish joint centers with practical missions and measurable results.
No agreement, legislation, or MoU can bind every future administration, but partnerships with tangible achievements and constituencies in both countries become harder to discard.
Military assistance also deserves a serious discussion.
Greater Israeli economic and defense independence would strengthen the country and weaken the portrayal of it as an American dependent. The goal should be a negotiated transition toward greater self-reliance, alongside deeper joint development, procurement, and strategic cooperation.
Israel and America will never be equal in population, economic scale, or global reach. A successful partnership does not require symmetry, but it does require both sides to see enduring value.
Shared democratic commitments and strategic interests remain powerful foundations, although neither should be taken for granted.
Moderates in both parties must defend those foundations, and Israel must help them with disciplined diplomacy and demonstrable contributions.
The next two years should be spent building a relationship capable of surviving the next 20, whoever occupies the White House next.
The writer is an international strategic communications and campaigns advisor, a former senior Israeli government adviser who has worked with eight cabinet ministers, as a former advisor to the Negev Forum, and has been involved in Israeli diplomacy, politics, and every election campaign for the past two decades. www.ashleyperrystrategies.com
Follow us on GoogleSource: The Jerusalem Post · ASHLEY PERRY
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