US Rep. Brad Sherman has warned Israeli leaders that deteriorating public opinion could threaten not only Washington’s annual financial assistance to Israel but also the country’s access to American weapons and diplomatic support.
In a series of posts on X, the California Democrat urged “every Israeli official and voter” to watch a CNN segment reporting a steep decline in Israel’s favorability among Americans. Sherman said the clip should be translated into Hebrew so that Israelis could better understand what is at stake.
Sherman said he had raised the issue in a conversation with Israel’s ambassador to the United States. In his view, neither the ambassador nor most Israelis fully appreciate the potential consequences of growing international isolation.
“It’s not just $3.8 billion of traditional annual aid,” Sherman wrote, referring to longstanding US security assistance. “It’s access to US weapons and diplomatic support.”
The congressman argued that Israel has failed to take basic steps to improve its standing abroad, including adequately funding its foreign ministry. He also sharply criticized the inclusion of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in the Israeli cabinet, describing him as an “existential threat.”
“Israel cannot survive with no friends in the world,” Sherman said.
Sherman acknowledged that Israelis may regard much of the anti-Israel sentiment around the world and within the American political system as unjustified. But he warned that believing Israel’s actions require no further explanation simply because Israelis consider them justified reflects what he called “an ignorance of Jewish history.”
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He also focused on violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, arguing that it would continue unless the ministries responsible for addressing it were led by officials genuinely committed to stopping it.
Sherman linked the issue to worsening American attitudes toward Israel, citing a CNN report that characterized the shift as extending beyond Democrats and the political left to the broader electorate. According to the passage Sherman shared, polling showed a 67-point movement against Israel.
“The polling numbers that CNN reports will just get worse as long as settler violence continues,” he wrote.