As chair of American Democrats in Israel, I spend a great deal of time talking to people who care deeply about Israel and the United States and are increasingly struggling to balance their dual loyalties. I have tried to distill my thoughts and present an avenue for Israel to regain the trust of the party and at the same time show how the party can once again appreciate the values Israel brings to the table.
Israel’s Main Challenge
The challenge Israel faces today is not simply a messaging problem. It is not a matter of finding better spokespeople, sharper slogans, or more polished talking points. Israel is losing trust among moderate Democratic politicians and voters because too many of them no longer see the kind of ally they believed Israel was: democratic, self-critical, security-minded but morally serious, and committed not only to survival, but to pluralistic values.
That trust has eroded under the current Israeli government, and it must be rebuilt.
I say this as someone who unswervingly believes in Israel and in its right – indeed its obligation – to defend its citizens against its enemies, whoever they may be. No country would accept the slaughter of its people, the kidnapping of its civilians, or the threat of an armed movement committed to its destruction.
Support for Israel in the Democratic center has never rested on security arguments alone. It is embedded in the belief that Israel is a democracy that understands force must serve strategy; that strategy must serve political purpose; and that power must remain bounded by law and conscience.
The sad fact is, that for many moderate Democrats, both here in Israel and in the United States, that belief has been shaken.
Too often, they see an Israel that appears indifferent to Palestinian civilian suffering, dismissive of allied concern, increasingly tolerant of settler extremism, and too willing to let rhetoric substitute for actual policy.
That perception may not capture the whole of Israeli reality, but politically, with an extremist right-wing government in power, it is a fact we cannot ignore. And if Israel wants to repair its standing with U.S. Democrats, it must begin by understanding that this estrangement is not the product of ignorance alone. In many cases, it is the product of disappointment.
What Moderate Democrats Expect from Israel
The first step toward regaining trust is to show, in both policy and tone, that Palestinian civilian life matters intrinsically. Yes, it’s the old case for a two-state solution.
Moderate Democrats are not asking Israel to abandon the fight against Hamas or other extremist Palestinian factions. They are asking Israel to act like a country that recognizes moral obligation even in war. Humanitarian access, civilian protection, medical aid, and seriousness about limiting unnecessary suffering are not concessions to critics. They are expressions of democratic responsibility and strategic intelligence. When Israeli officials sound cavalier about destruction or deprivation, they damage both Israel’s image and limit the ability of its friends to argue on its behalf.
Israel must also reestablish a clear distinction between legitimate self-defense and the deepening reality of permanent occupation. Many moderate Democrats can support military action against Hamas while still recoiling from settlement expansion, settler violence, annexationist rhetoric, and policies that suggest Palestinians are to be denied political self-government indefinitely. In the American political imagination these are not separate issues. They are part of a larger question: whether Israel is using power to defend itself, or to entrench a system with no credible end point except permanent inequality.
That is a question Israel cannot afford to leave unanswered in the eyes of moderate Democrats.
If Israel wants to rebuild confidence among moderate Democrats, it should take visible steps: crack down on settler violence without ambiguity, halt policies that reward illegal outposts, and assure that security control is not a license for permanent dispossession. Even those who are skeptical about the near-term prospects for peace still want assurance that Israel has not abandoned the principle that Palestinians are entitled to dignity, rights, and a future.
Just as important, Israel must show that its own democracy remains non-negotiable. Many Democrats were alarmed not only by Israel’s conduct during its war in Gaza, but by the internal political trends that preceded it: attacks on judicial independence, the normalization of anti-liberal rhetoric, and the empowerment of figures openly hostile to pluralism and restraint. For American Democrats, the bond with Israel has always depended on democratic recognition. Israel did not have to be perfect. But it did have to remain legible as a fellow democracy. The more Israel seems to erode its own institutions, the harder it becomes for even sympathetic Democrats to see their values reflected in its leadership.
Criticism Should Not Be Seen as “Betrayal”
Israel and many of its defenders must stop treating criticism from friends as betrayal. In recent years, too much legitimate concern has been waved away as hostility, naivete, or worse. That is a profound mistake. Moderate Democrats do not expect to agree with every Israeli policy. But they do expect that disagreement, especially from people who support Israel’s existence and security, will not automatically place them outside the tent. If Israel wants a broad coalition of support in America, it must make room for people who are troubled by occupation, alarmed by humanitarian suffering, and committed to liberal democratic norms.
A healthy alliance must be able to withstand honest argument.
Moderate Democrats do not recognize “total victory” as a political strategy, especially if no end game is in sight. Questions abound. Who governs Gaza? What strengthens pragmatic Palestinian actors (if such exist today) rather than nihilistic ones? What role will regional partners play? How will Israel preserve the possibility – however distant – of a future built on separation, mutual legitimacy, and security for both peoples? Without a final scenario, military action looks less like painful necessity and more like endless management through force alone.
That is unsustainable militarily, diplomatically, and morally.
The Bipartisan Quagmire
I believe Israel must stop drifting into the arms of one American political camp at the expense of the other. As someone who represents Americans in Israel and remains committed to Democratic values and Democratic politics, I see the danger clearly. Israel cannot afford to become a partisan symbol in the United States – embraced by Republicans and written off by Democrats. Evangelical support and conservative backing matter, but they are not a substitute for broad bipartisan legitimacy. The long-term strength of the US-Israel relationship depends on Israel remaining understandable and defensible to the American center-left, not treating that constituency as expendable.
Where Do We Go from Here?
The good news is that this trust is not beyond repair. Many moderate Democrats have not turned against Israel. They are anguished, conflicted, and increasingly alienated, but they are not unreachable. They are still open to the argument that Israel is a democracy under extraordinary threat. What they need is evidence: evidence that Israel’s conduct is bounded by law, that its leaders reject extremism, that civilian suffering is taken seriously, that democratic institutions still matter, and that military power is being used in the service of a political future rather than in place of one.
Israel will not regain the trust of moderate Democrats through hasbara (advocacy) alone. It will regain that trust by demonstrating, through policy and leadership, that it still seeks to be the kind of country its friends once found easy to recognize: strong, democratic, humane, and morally serious.
That is not a cosmetic task. It is a national imperative.
A Final Thought
Repairing this relationship will not happen overnight. It requires humility, strategic patience, and a willingness to listen. It requires Israeli leadership willing to take bold steps, but it also requires that moderate Democrats recognize those Israeli leaders who will bring this change, shutting their ears to the “noise” coming from the Progressive left wing of the Party. This must be done, because the cost of inaction is too high to ignore. By recommitting to shared values, embracing bipartisanship, and engaging in constructive dialogue, Israel can ensure that its most vital alliance remains strong, resilient, and bipartisan for generations to come.
Ethan Kushner is a writer, strategist and marketing executive focused on Israel–Diaspora, US-Israel relations and civil-society-led nation branding. He is founder of the Kerem Alliance, an NGO working to counter polarization by advancing a more credible, values-based global conversation about Israel. He is also Chair of American Democrats in Israel, an organization of American Israeli supporters of the US Democratic Party and Israeli identity with a mission of supporting U.S. Democratic political candidates who ally with Israel and Jewish values. His work explores democracy, identity, and the limits of government-led public diplomacy in an increasingly fractured media landscape.