The Real Issue in Israel Goes Far Beyond Netanyahu

The Shift in Democratic Stance on Israel

In recent years, a growing number of mainstream Democrats have attempted to create a space for what they consider "acceptable" Zionism. This approach often involves expressing support for Israel while simultaneously opposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, the devastating realities unfolding in Gaza are not the result of a single leader's policies but rather a complex web of systemic issues that extend far beyond any individual.

Last week, Senate Democrats made a notable shift by voting 27 to 17 in favor of a resolution introduced by Bernie Sanders aimed at halting the shipment of assault rifles to Israel. Additionally, 24 of these senators supported another resolution that sought to block $675 million in overall arms sales to the country. While this marked a significant departure from previous voting patterns, the gap between the party’s elected officials and the Democratic base remains vast. Recent polling indicates that only 8% of Democratic voters support Israel’s actions in Gaza, compared to 32% among the general American population. Even the broader resolution only targeted “offensive” weapons, leaving “defensive” aid such as funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile shield intact. This distinction is questionable, given that defense funding can free up resources for offensive operations and that Israel has more freedom to initiate conflicts when it can easily repel counterattacks.

A Changing Political Landscape

This vote would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Historically, support for Israel has been bipartisan. Now, a majority of Senate Democrats have voted against weapons sales supported by all their Republican colleagues. This shift reflects a dramatic change in public opinion, with even many establishment politicians struggling to find their footing on the issue.

Over the past two years, Israel has forced millions of Palestinian civilians to leave their homes. The civilian death toll in absolute numbers surpasses that of major wars in larger countries, and Gaza now has the highest rate of child amputees per capita globally. Two years of indiscriminate bombardment have left aerial views of Gaza resembling the surface of the moon. Furthermore, Israel’s policy of blocking most food aid has led to severe malnutrition and, in some cases, catastrophic starvation.

The Challenge for Democratic Politicians

It is increasingly difficult for Democratic politicians who aim to position themselves as sensible, moderate liberals to defend a country engaged in such atrocities against its stateless and rightless noncitizen subjects. According to a report published by CNN, many pro-Israel Democrats in Congress have resorted to blaming everything on Benjamin Netanyahu, as if the genocide in Gaza stemmed solely from his personality rather than deeper features of Israel’s state or society.

Fearing that Zionism could lose traction among Democrats, many party leaders are explicitly distancing themselves from Netanyahu to prevent anti-Israel attitudes from becoming a litmus test for upcoming elections. However, privately, several admit they worry it may be too late.

The Liberal Zionist Narrative

Many Zionists in Western countries see themselves as good liberals, but this belief often clashes with the reality of supporting an exclusionary ethnostate that rules over millions of noncitizens. The idea that the occupation of the Palestinian territories was ever intended to be temporary is hard to reconcile with Israel’s long-standing policy of building settlements on the West Bank.

The liberal Zionist narrative typically goes like this: I don’t like the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and I wish there weren’t so many settlements. In the long term, I’d prefer a two-state solution. But Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state and to defend itself. The problem is that the Israeli right is in power now, and they don’t want a two-state solution. They’re fighting the war in Gaza in an unrestrained, disproportionate way. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop supporting Israel. I’ll keep my liberal Zionist faith while I wait for the Israeli opposition, who are surely sensible two-state liberals like me, to take power.

The Illusion of a Sensible Opposition

While there is some truth to this narrative, the basic premise that there is a sensible liberal opposition waiting in the wings is disconnected from observable reality. Last year, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) voted 68 to 9 in favor of a resolution opposing the creation of a Palestinian state. All nine members who voted against it were from Arab parties, and the only Jewish no vote came from Ofer Cassif, a far-left figure who has faced physical violence at protests. Many mainstream opposition MKs avoided the vote altogether, showing that the idea of a liberal opposition is largely a myth.

The Nature of Israel’s Political System

Israel’s political spectrum tilts far to the right not because of a recent development but due to its core identity as an exclusionary ethnostate. While there has been a rightward shift in recent years, particularly since the October 7th attacks, the resting position of Israel’s political pendulum is far removed from what would be normal in a liberal democracy. Israel was founded as a “Jewish state,” which means it was established for the benefit of a particular ethnic subset of the population. This understanding has always been foundational to the mainstream political spectrum.

The Reality of Apartheid

Over the last fifty-eight years, Israel has systematically incorporated the West Bank into the country for legal and practical purposes, except for granting citizenship rights to the people living there. This policy has turned the territory into an open-air prison camp, where Palestinians live under strict control. This situation falls under any reasonable definition of apartheid. Those who deny this reality often resort to two standard strategies of evasion: one is to argue that apartheid is about racial discrimination, not ethnic, and the other is to claim that the existence of Arab citizens of Israel negates the possibility of apartheid.

The Ethnostate and Its Consequences

An ethnostate that doesn’t need its subjugated population as a labor source has a far freer hand to engage in extreme solutions to the demographic problem posed by that population. The analogy to apartheid South Africa understates the grimness of the situation, as the Zionist strategy has always been to displace the Palestinian working class rather than exploit them. As a result, we’ve seen horrific outcomes in Gaza and the West Bank, where settler pogroms against the Palestinian population have become more frequent and violent.

The Path Forward

The best outcome would be a one-state solution, where Israel stops being an exclusionary ethnostate and becomes a normal liberal democracy with equal rights for all. However, achieving this transition seems unlikely. Something dramatic would have to change to force Israel to evacuate settlers in the West Bank, allow Gazans to resume normal life, and permit Palestinians to form their own state. One thing is certain: the problem is not Benjamin Netanyahu. He is a symptom of deeper processes rooted in the Zionist project. Regardless of who leads the country, the first step toward sanity would be a permanent end to all US support for this state.