JULY 30 — For decades, Israel could rely on bipartisan, no-questions-asked support from Washington — especially from the Republican right. Evangelicals, conservative pundits, and red-state politicians rallied behind Tel Aviv with Bible verses in one hand and defence budgets in the other. But cracks are forming. Loud ones.
And not just on the liberal side of the aisle.
In what may be one of the more dramatic shifts in US foreign policy sentiment, parts of Donald Trump’s MAGA base — the loudest flag-wavers for Israel since the Bush era — are starting to whisper, hesitate, even pull back.
Take this in: in 2017, Democrats sympathised with Israel over the Palestinians by 13 points. By 2025? That number flipped—43 per cent now side with Palestinians. But here’s the kicker: even Republicans are wobbling. Last year, 78 per cent of GOP voters said they stood firmly with Israel. This year? Just 64 per cent. Sympathy for Palestinians didn’t rise. It’s Israel’s own standing that dropped.
And the signs aren’t just in polling data — they’re in the people.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, not exactly a bastion of logic, recently proposed slashing half a billion US dollars from Israel’s Iron Dome funding. Only six voted with her. But the shock wasn’t in the failure — it was in the fact that the proposal even came from within Trump’s camp.
Tucker Carlson, once the high priest of Fox News nationalism, openly mocked pro-Israel hawks like Ted Cruz over Iran. He didn’t just criticise policy — he questioned their knowledge, their motives, their blind allegiance. When even Tucker stops toeing the line, something’s shifting.
And then there’s the bombshell that turned even the die-hard evangelicals uneasy: an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza. Not the first attack on a church, but the one that finally rang alarm bells across conservative America. Even Mike Huckabee — Mr. “Israel can do no wrong” — was forced to condemn it.
All this, against the backdrop of the Epstein scandal clawing its way back into the headlines. Trump’s close personal ties with the convicted sex trafficker are once again under scrutiny. And now, right-wing conspiracy circles are connecting Epstein’s enablers to Israel’s Mossad. Wild theories aside, the optics are ugly. And MAGA voters — already restless — are paying attention.
It’s leaking like a burst pipe under Jalan Sultan Ismail during rush hour — just spraying nonsense everywhere and no one knows who’s in charge.
A recent Pew survey shows 50 per cent of Republicans under 50 now view Israel negatively. That’s not just a generational divide — it’s a warning shot.
Netanyahu’s long game was simple: double down on the right, shrug off the left. But now the right’s got questions. The money will keep flowing — donors like Miriam Adelson won’t shut the tap off anytime soon — but votes are harder to buy. Sympathy even more so.
Michael Knowles, a leading conservative voice, put it bluntly: “You’re losing me.”
And that sums up the moment. Israel’s global image, once bulletproof, is now slipping — on both sides of the American aisle. The Iron Dome may still function, but the narrative shield?
Let’s just say… it’s got a few gaping holes.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
