Relationship with Israel: A sensitive issue for Democrats and Republicans

Relationship with Israel A sensitive issue for Democrats and Republicans As of: October 21, 2026 • 7:21 p.m

Solidarity with Israel is dwindling in the USA. Surveys show that younger Americans in particular are turning away from their close ally. This is causing considerable problems for Democrats and Republicans in the election campaign.

Two years ago, Darializa Avila Chevalier was still a student and one of the loudest voices in the Gaza protests at New York's Columbia University. Now an activist in the Harlem district is running for a seat in the US Congress. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to New York for the UN General Assembly in September, she was back on the streets and even allowed herself to be arrested during a protest:

"It is important that we fight against our tax dollars being used for Israel's war crimes. We must show that our elected representatives in Congress and the administration are complicit in these war crimes - and it must stop."

Chevalier represents a new generation of younger Democratic politicians. All eyes are now on Abdul El-Sayed, the Senate candidate in the state of Michigan. In the party's internal primaries, he was able to prevail against a long-time supporter of Israel. But things could get tight with the elections in just under two weeks. The Republicans are trying everything to discredit the avowed Muslim as an Islamist and anti-Semite.

The role model and mentor for the Israel-critical wing of the Democrats is the new mayor of New York. However, Zohran Mamdani is consciously trying to walk a tightrope in his new office: he also accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza, but at the same time has launched an ambitious program against anti-Semitism. However, when he attended a vigil with Jewish organizations on the anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attack, angry demonstrators called him a traitor and an accomplice to genocide.

Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated her party's previous representative in the primary and is now running for a seat in the House of Representatives.

However, the relationship with Israel not only divides the Democratic Party, but also Donald Trump's MAGA movement. Here it is not the Gaza war but the Iran war that is tearing the Republican base apart.

On the one hand, there is the camp of "Christian Zionists" who see Israel primarily as a "Holy Land" and want to defend it militarily against enemies such as Iran.

On the other side is the “America First” wing of the movement, to which Donald Trump has promised the end of all wars in the Middle East. The president turned them against himself with the Iran war; all the more so as energy prices explode in the middle of the election campaign because the president cannot find a way out of the conflict.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has therefore openly broken with Trump: "I feel sorry for Donald Trump - just as I feel sorry for all slaves."

Tucker Carlson accuses Israel of manipulating US politics. This has also earned him the accusation of spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

The US President as a slave and puppet of Israel: The path to anti-Semitic conspiracy stories is not far. They are spread online by MAGA influencers with a wide reach and primarily reach younger Republican supporters. According to surveys, a majority of people under 50 now have a negative image of Israel and want to significantly reduce military aid.

Trump knows that he has nothing to gain from the Middle East issue. Most recently, he avoided meeting Netanyahu. Israel is about to lose its most important ally.

This topic in the program: NDR Info | News | Oct 21, 2026 | 12:00 p.m