Democrat Rahm Emanuel tells Israel to no longer expect unlimited aid from the US | Election News

Democrat Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago who is expected to launch the presidential election in 2028, told Israel to no longer expect unlimited aid from the United States.

His speech, delivered Wednesday at Tel Aviv University, included criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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“Unrestricted aid has produced a prime minister who thinks his own interests will not cost him political money if he ignores America’s concerns about housing and starts a regional war,” Emanuel said.

In light of this, Emanuel argued that the US-Israel relationship should be re-evaluated. “We want, a new and different way of the union,” he said.

This statement represents a shift to the left in Emanuel’s case.

A former member of the Democratic Party establishment, Emanuel has played a major role in improving US-Israel relations. He served as an adviser to former US President Bill Clinton during the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the 1990s, and was involved in Middle East policy as former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2010.

But since then, public opinion polls have shown that Democratic voters are increasingly anti-Israel, especially after its establishment. a war of genocide in Gaza, which has killed at least 73,000 Palestinians since 2023.

The 66-year-old Emanuel pointed to the US election, as well as military aid to Israel in Europe, during his speech on Wednesday.

He warned that the relationship between the US and Israel is “at a crossroads” and needs “a radical change and a new direction”.

“For too long, American policy in Israel has worked on the assumption that the best thing Washington can do in Jerusalem is to stand quietly behind your government, without conditions, without demands, and without consequences when we conflict,” he said. “That has been our mistake.”

Emanuel cited several areas of concern in his remarks. He also pointed to the escalation of violence against Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law, and Israel’s attempts to block aid to Palestinians suffering in the war-torn Gaza.

This, Emanuel warned, has turned Israel into a “pariah” in the world.

“Here I want to make it clear: The United States cannot continue to fund and support this cynicism in silence,” he said. “You cannot fight forever against a country that no longer believes in your right to fight. Instead, you must find a new way to achieve peace, security and prosperity. America is ready.”

Emanuel added that he supports sanctions against Israelis who attack Palestinian civilians and their property, as well as officials who support violence and “any construction company or bank building or financing illegal settlements”.

However, he had words of criticism for Israel’s Arab neighbors. Emanuel called on Arab countries to take responsibility for the establishment of a Palestinian state, while acknowledging Israel’s claims to the former Palestine.

“The now derided two-state solution must be replaced by a 23-state solution,” Emanuel said.

“The 21 Arab tribes that have been exercising Palestinian independence for years must now raise their hands (and) stand up for rulers who can recognize the ancient Jewish relationship with the state of Israel.”

Change view

Many observers saw the speech as evidence of a climate change within the Democratic Party, where US-Israel relations have long been viewed as sacrosanct.

Emanuel, whose father was born in Jerusalem, has been a long-time critic of Netanyahu, but is not known to publicly advocate for US aid to Israel.

Instead, he helped oversee the initial funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defense system as Obama’s chief of staff.

“I think this was an attempt to start the presidential election by dealing with an issue that has become very important to the politics of the Democratic Party for the first time,” said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC.

An AP-NORC poll released earlier this week confirmed a shift in US voters toward Israel. It found that 58 percent of Democrats consider the US “too supportive of Israel”, up from 45 percent in January 2024.

More than half of the Democrats polled said they believed Israel had killed people in Gaza.

Recent polls have also shown a shift in opinion among US voters, with a list of progressives protesting US-Israeli wins in New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado.

The aid cut legislation has also seen unprecedented support in the US Congress. In April, for example, 40 US senators voted to ban it selling rips to Israelseeing their use in demolishing Palestinian homes.

There has also been evidence of change of mind among Republicans, and US Vice President JD Vance has recently been making insulting remarks against Israel.

“Donald J Trump is the only leader in the world who feels sympathy for the nation of Israel at the moment,” Vance said last month, as he expressed dismay at Israel’s actions at the US-Iran ceasefire memorial.

Vance is also expected to run for president in 2028.

‘thread the needle’

However, Zogby noted that there are limits to what so-called politicians are willing to do in criticizing Israel.

Zogby noted that Emanuel’s speech on Wednesday was based on pro-Israel arguments and was made largely from an Israeli perspective.

The former mayor, for example, began his speech by saying that, in the past, Israeli leaders had offered “Palestinian sovereignty in exchange for your security”, only to have the offer rejected by the corrupt Palestinian leaders.

These attitudes have been rejected by many Palestinians and other peace activists over the years, including Zogby, who was appointed by Clinton to help boost the Palestinian economy following the signing of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s.

Although still technically in place, the contracts were awarded most of it is oversince the peace plan has stood.

Emanuel also focused in Wednesday’s speech on what the Netanyahu government is doing.

It could be a politically safe move, given the Israeli prime minister’s popularity in the US, Zogby said.

But Zogby added that such a statement also avoids contradicting what happened between Israel and Palestine.

All told, Zogby saw the speech as an indication of what will happen before the 2028 vote, and how candidates will align with the interests of voters and major donors, including Israel’s allies.

“People running for president, often, try to put the needle in the middle when they see the conflict between the Democrats,” Zogby said, “and what they feel are the positions they need to take so they don’t get on the wrong side of big money”.