Bibi could somehow peel off a couple of wavering right-wing members from the new coalition and force another round of elections. It’s extremely unlikely, but, as opposed to storming Capitol Hill, it is a legal option.
It’s not about progressive circles questioning America’s unconditional support for Israel, nor is it about the far-left margins of the party that reject the mere idea of supporting Israel. It is about centrist Democrats willing to break rank and express views that—while still supportive of Israel—doubt Israel’s goals and question the tactics in the ongoing Gaza conflict.
This dispatch comes to you from Israel, a nation still trying to overcome the loss of 45 lives during a Lag B’omer celebration on Mount Meron last Thursday.
Ever since Joe Biden took office and Democrats became the majority party in both chambers of Congress, all of the dovish lobby’s dreams seem to have come true: One by one, the administration has been rolling back Trump-era policies adopted to marginalize the Palestinians; American foreign aid money is once again flowing to Palestinian causes; Israel is being called out when it crosses the line on settlement activity, and the term “two-state solution” is back in America’s diplomatic lexicon. Not to mention the launch of a diplomatic effort aimed at reviving the Iranian nuclear deal, which Trump had dropped out of, triggering an Iranian resumption of nuclear activity.
Nuclear talks with Iran are resuming. Absent from the table will be the United States, which dropped out of the nuclear deal in 2018.
Elections have consequences, as the saying goes, and among these consequences is the reshuffling of power within the Washington inner circle. This is true not only for politicians who either move up the influence ladder or descend toward irrelevance but also for those in the policy advocacy game.
Why is Washington so pro-Israel? Political correspondent Nathan Guttman explores this question and more in this week’s Politics & Power.
In this week’s Politics & Power, Nathan Guttman explores the controversy surrounding republican freshman congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
For some, the transition was swift and painless.
On the streets next to Capitol Hill, DC residents broke out into spontaneous dancing, as soon as police lifted the barricades next to their homes at the end of Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony.
Across the country, cheerful Americans posted photos online of champagne bottles popping open, sharing toasts with friends, and showing off Biden-Harris posters and inauguration memorabilia. (There were also the Bernie Sanders memes, but that’s another story.)
For others, however, transitioning to Joe Biden’s America was harder.
Politics & Power columnist Nathan Guttman explores how January 6th’s Capitol Hill insurrection dealth American Jews a double blow.
Before they leave for the Sunshine State, Israel’s government is making sure to show its gratitude to Kushner for four years of holding the administration’s Middle East portfolio, brokering normalization agreements with four Arab countries and shifting America’s policy in the region to a more Likud-oriented posture.
Israelis may not be known for their fancy gifts, but they have a knack for historic symbolic presents.
So what did Kushner find in his goody bag?
