“My people are starting to hate Israel.”
That’s what President Donald Trump reportedly told a prominent Jewish donor recently. His remark wasn’t just a political aside; it was a warning. As images of starvation and devastation from Gaza flood American screens, even Trump has privately acknowledged the reality of “real starvation.” A shift is underway, and it is reshaping the foundations of American politics and foreign policy.
Once-unquestioning support for Israel on the American right is beginning to erode. MAGA-aligned voices—from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who labeled Israel’s war in Gaza a “genocide,” to populist influencers like Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson—are now publicly challenging the U.S.–Israel relationship. Bannon has observed that Israel has “very little support” among the under-30 MAGA base. Carlson, in an interview with progressive host Ana Kasparian, went further: “They [Israel] are not allowed to use my tax dollars to bomb churches,” he declared, accusing Tel Aviv of war crimes and questioning continued U.S. military aid.
This growing skepticism reflects a deeper structural problem in the U.S.–Israel relationship: a classic case of moral hazard. Israel operates with the expectation that Washington will foot the bill—politically, financially, and militarily—regardless of how destabilizing or damaging its actions may be. Israeli leaders have repeatedly defied American warnings, expanded illegal settlements, and abandoned even the pretense of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, all while receiving billions in unconditional aid and carte blanche diplomatic cover.
As former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said back in 2011, Israel is an “ungrateful ally” that gives “nothing in return” for American guarantees, military support, and intelligence sharing. Generals David Petraeus and James Mattis, both former commanders of U.S. Central Command, have likewise warned that Israel’s policies directly undermine U.S. interests in the region, inflame anti-American sentiment, and fuel recruitment for extremist groups.
Yet, Israel’s leaders continue to act with impunity, confident that the United States will absorb the political and strategic fallout. That is not the mark of a healthy alliance. It is exploitation.
Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel’s recent actions toward Iran. Despite explicit warnings from Washington, Israeli forces launched a surprise attack on Iran on June 13, hitting nuclear, military, and civilian sites, and killing senior commanders, scientists, and hundreds of civilians, including children. The timing was no accident: the strikes came just as U.S. diplomats were reportedly on the verge of a breakthrough in nuclear negotiations with Tehran.
The fallout was immediate, and its costs to the United States extended far beyond diplomacy, striking at the heart of American strategic and material security. For example, in rushing to defend Israel during the 12-day war, the United States depleted roughly a quarter of its entire stockpile of THAAD missile interceptors, a vital component of America’s high-end missile defense network. These interceptors are not easily replaced; experts estimate it could take up to eight years to replenish the supply. For a country increasingly focused on deterring China, this is not burden-sharing. It is free riding by Israel, and it leaves America less secure.
And what was gained? Despite triumphalist claims that Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated,” the reality is murky. The fate of Iran’s enriched uranium and advanced centrifuges remains unknown, and Tehran has expelled international inspectors while embracing a posture of nuclear ambiguity, mirroring Israel’s own opaque doctrine. Far from eliminating the challenge, the attacks have reinforced a hard truth: Short of a full-scale U.S. invasion, there is no military solution to Iran’s nuclear program. Without inspectors or boots on the ground, its status is fundamentally unverifiable. Only diplomacy—long preferred by Trump—offers a path to lasting and verifiable limits on Iran’s nuclear activities.
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