{"id":518427,"date":"2026-06-30T16:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/518427\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T16:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:00:12","slug":"young-israelis-question-the-future-of-american-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/518427\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Israelis question the future of American support"},"content":{"rendered":"

The war changed that.<\/p>\n

Watching American support arrive in the immediate aftermath of Hamas\u2019s attack<\/a> reinforced the importance of the relationship. Watching Washington later pressure Jerusalem over military operations raised a different question.<\/p>\n

How much influence should a foreign government have over Israel\u2019s security decisions?<\/p>\n

For decades, the United States has been Israel\u2019s closest ally. Since October 7, that relationship has become even more visible. But among younger Israelis, appreciation for American support increasingly sits alongside frustration, concern, and uncertainty about what comes next.<\/p>\n

That tension is reflected in recent polling. An Israel Democracy Institute survey found that the largest share of Israelis believe the United States has greater influence over Israel\u2019s security decisions than Israel\u2019s own government. In fact, respondents were twice as likely to say Washington has the greater influence than Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

For a country founded on the principle of self-reliance, that is not a comfortable thought.<\/p>\n

The ally Israel needs<\/p>\n

The relationship\u2019s importance is difficult to overstate.<\/p>\n

The United States currently provides Israel with $3.8 billion in annual military assistance<\/a>. Since October 7, Congress has approved billions more in emergency military aid and missile-defense funding. An Institute for National Security Studies survey conducted during the war found that 76% of Israelis believe American support is necessary for Israel\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n

Dorani is among them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Israel can be disconnected 100%,\u201d he said. America, he argued, remains Israel\u2019s most important ally. But he rejects the idea that the relationship is one-sided.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes the media in the US say, \u2018we\u2019re giving, we\u2019re giving, we\u2019re giving,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThey forget that they get it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentiment surfaced repeatedly.<\/p>\n

\"BeforeBefore October 7, Netanel Dorani worked as a scuba diving instructor in Eilat and studied psychology and art media. (credit: Courtesy)<\/p>\n

Ben Hayton, a UK-qualified lawyer and combat reservist who has served throughout the war, also views the alliance as mutually beneficial. Israel receives military assistance and diplomatic backing, he said, but contributes intelligence cooperation, technology, and security expertise in return.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael provides not a few technologies,\u201d he said. \u201cThe US benefits from a lot of support.\u201d<\/p>\n

The broader relationship reflects that reality. Israeli-developed technologies are used in American border security systems<\/a>, cyberdefense initiatives, and military platforms. Israeli innovations have found their way onto American tanks, into law enforcement programs, and across critical infrastructure networks.<\/p>\n

Yet even among those who strongly support the alliance, there is growing unease about dependence.<\/p>\n

Support becomes influence<\/p>\n

That dependence becomes most visible when Washington and Jerusalem disagree.<\/p>\n

Dorani remembered president Joe Biden\u2019s response immediately after October 7 positively.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least from the American government, we got what we wanted at the start,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As the war dragged on, however, disagreements between Jerusalem and Washington became more visible.<\/p>\n

For Hayton, those disagreements have had tangible consequences.<\/p>\n

He recalled preparing for operations in Lebanon that were repeatedly delayed amid ceasefire negotiations. \u201cWe\u2019ve literally buried soldiers because we weren\u2019t moving forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Hayton, the relationship has become entangled with domestic American politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur safety and our security is now coming down to short-term political barriers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dorani shared some of that frustration. While he sees the relationship as essential, he worries about situations in which Israeli military decisions become subject to external political considerations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a certain level when soldiers die,\u201d he said. \u201cIn that moment I stop listening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others frame the issue differently.<\/p>\n

One young Israeli who asked to be identified only by his first name, Matanel, said Israel cannot afford to become dependent on any foreign power when it comes to matters of security.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I was born, I\u2019ve always been influenced by the fact that what saved this country is its ability to be independent in defense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, he does not advocate abandoning the alliance. Rather, he sees the relationship as part of a broader regional framework that includes the Abraham Accords<\/a> and emerging ties between Israel and Arab states.<\/p>\n

\"BenBen Hayton holds a master\u2019s degree in government from Reichman University with specialization in homeland security. During the war, he has served multiple rounds of reserve duty. (credit: Courtesy)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationship between Israel and the US is a relationship of not small changes for both sides,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For many younger Israelis, that tension sits at the heart of the alliance: gratitude for American support alongside discomfort with American leverage.<\/p>\n

Looking beyond Trump<\/p>\n

No discussion about America is complete without mentioning US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

A February 2026 Jewish People Policy Institute survey found that 73% of Israelis viewed Trump as better than average for Israel\u2019s interests. Nearly half described him as one of the best American presidents in history from Israel\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n

Yet support for Trump does not necessarily translate into confidence about the future.<\/p>\n

Dorani described him as supportive but increasingly unpredictable. \u201cYou don\u2019t really know what to expect from this guy,\u201d he told the Report.<\/p>\n

Hayton worries about something else. \u201cWe\u2019ve sort of tied ourselves to Trump\u2019s wagon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The greatest source of anxiety is not necessarily Washington today but America tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Pew polling published this year found that 60% of American adults hold an unfavorable view of Israel. Majorities of Americans under 50 in both political parties view Israel negatively.<\/p>\n

A Ruderman Family Foundation survey found that nearly eight in 10 Israelis are concerned about declining support for Israel among the American public. Almost half expect support among younger American Jews to weaken further in the future.<\/p>\n

Dorani follows those trends closely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support is important to us,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if people sit in their office in America\u2026 and no one shoots missiles at them, they don\u2019t really know what they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hayton sees the challenge differently. Israel, he said, has failed to explain its case effectively to international audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Israel\u2019s complete and utter failure in the narrative war is basically taking all of our friends and allies and we\u2019ve not given them anything to use,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

What worries both men is less the relationship between governments than the mood of the American public.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s university students, activists, and voters will become tomorrow\u2019s lawmakers, diplomats, and presidents.<\/p>\n

Relationship in transition<\/p>\n

For a generation that has spent much of its adulthood in uniform, the US-Israel relationship feels less like an abstract diplomatic alliance and more like something that shapes daily reality.<\/p>\n

Few question America\u2019s importance. The questions are about influence, dependence, and what happens if support in the United States continues to erode.<\/p>\n

America remains central to Israel\u2019s future. What many young Israelis are trying to understand is whether the relationship that has defined Israeli security for decades will look the same in the decades ahead.\u25a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The war changed that. Watching American support arrive in the immediate aftermath of Hamas\u2019s attack reinforced the importance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[83,83014,54,85,46,11487,13810,9552,43,58],"class_list":["post-518427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-abraham-accords","tag-american-israeli-relations","tag-donald-trump","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-jd-vance","tag-jerusalem-report","tag-national-security","tag-news","tag-the-october-7-massacre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}