Earlier this year, libertarian-esque Congressman Thomas Massie was defeated in the primary by Navy Captain Ed Gallrein for his seat for Congress. A major point of controversy in this race was the role pro-Israel lobbying groups played in the defeat of the Congressman, especially since Massie took an increasingly anti-Israel/Epstein stance during his most recent term. There is an argument that could be had about how that impacted the race as pro-Israeli groups did spend a lot on the race in a bid to make sure Gallrein won.
However, overall influence Israel can be argued to be overstated as there have been high-profile elections where pro-Israel groups backed a candidate who lost. The best example of this is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who defeated Senator John Cornyn in the primary for Cornyn’s seat. Of note, Cornyn was endorsed by AIPAC while Ken Paxton was not. What both Gallrein and Paxton do have in common though is that both were endorsed by President Donald Trump, who has his own mixed history with Israel.
For whatever reason, there’s a belief that if America takes any action, Israel must somehow be secretly organizing the events behind it. This can mean simply blaming Israel for actions the U.S. is taking, such as the war in Iran, the war in Iraq, or foreign aid donations. Though it’s fair to say they have influence over such events, the conspiracies can go even further, such as blaming Israel for assassinations or acts of terrorism, all of which are usually discredited easily. Then there’s the outright fake news stories about Israel, but those aren’t related to the topic at hand. In short, if something happens in the U.S., it’s usually Israel’s fault.
Now, there is plenty of justification for having issues with Israel. From the attack on the U.S. Liberty to the Johnathon Pollard spy case to historical bad blood with our NATO ally, Turkey, Israel has never been a perfect ally to the U.S. so there is room for criticism. Also, it’s impossible to say they have no influence in the U.S. since pro-Israel lobbies do spend a lot in U.S. elections. So it is worth a discussion on whether or not this influence is good. Still, Israel is hardly the only allied country to try and interfere in U.S. elections (we’ve certainly interfered in theirs) and they’re not the only ally we’ve had international incidents with (such as France, Britain, Chile, and others) so singling them out seems naive. So that does beg one to wonder why they get singled out in comparison to other problems the U.S. has had with other countries.
Well, regardless of reasoning, the real problem with the Israeli conspiracies is that they reduce American agency. The idea that the U.S. is completely independent of international affairs and the only reason anything could ever happen is because of a random politician in Jerusalem eliminates the idea that America has a history, relationships, or leaders with their own agenda. Honestly, it gives another country too much credit by claiming America is just its puppet and somehow makes the belief that ending a relationship with it would magically make its problems go away
Most of the major actions the U.S. has taken in the Middle East have been based on its own interests in one way or another. After all, we did have a history of issues with both Iran and Iraq prior to invading them so it’s not completely surprising the wars happened. Similarly, the various conspiracies surrounding them about assassinations or terrorist attacks aren’t possible to prove so speculating on them only gives cover to the people who actually committed them. As a result, it makes Israel just a scapegoat for bad people more than it does say anything about the relationship with the country.
Another way to look at the situation is to consider our relationship with Israel as a chicken-and-egg problem. Yes, we do a lot of things that benefit Israel, but Israel does have a lot of enemies that we also have. Yes, a lot of politicians take money from AIPAC, but that wasn’t controversial until recently because Israel was usually considered an ally or because of its history. When we’ve had issues with them, we’ve not been shy of letting them know and telling them off.
The truth is, we’re in this situation because our relationship with Israel is changing. We originally supported Israel as a Cold War ally, but that war is over. Similarly, the generation that was most impacted by what created Israel is finding itself increasingly politically irrelevant while younger generations tend to (at best) question our relationship with Israel. As a result, it’s worth asking what our relationship with Israel is now that the reasons we were friends have changed. However, that’s true for literally every NATO ally as our country increasingly pivots to a growing Cold War with China so that’s really just more of a broader conversation we need to have about foreign policy over all.
Still, the Israel hate is particularly annoying as it oversimplifies US foreign relationships and even eliminates responsibility from poor decisions. Like all conspiracies, it simply allows someone to believe there’s an external reason we haven’t done what they wanted as opposed to accepting that what they want may not be popular with the legislators, or their voters. For that reason, it’s why I find people who obsess over it (not merely have opinions on it but make it their main focus) to be saying more about themselves than Israel.
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