Bibi torched U.S. support for Israel for a generation

[Right_in_Virginia]

Bibi torched U.S. support for Israel for a generation
Axios, Apr 18, 2026



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wreaking havoc on Israel's standing with Americans as the Iran war supercharges a deterioration in relations with the U.S.

Why it matters: Israel's polling collapse among younger Americans is hitting Congress, too. Lawmakers who started out staunchly pro-Israel are becoming increasingly vocal critics.

"We need to have a discussion about how to normalize that relationship and what change is necessary; there's no doubt about that," Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) told Axios.

Zoom in: Every Senate Democrat who's eyeing a 2028 presidential run voted against arms sales to Israel in votes earlier this week.

40 Senate Dems voted on a resolution to block arms sales to Israel, up from just 15 on a similar vote last April.
Netanyahu is "destroying the bipartisan nature in terms of support for Israel," Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) told Punchbowl News.

Over in the House, some Democrats are turning against defensive support, including funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.

That was "seen as insanely fringe four years ago," Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) told Axios.

But multiple Democrats who voted for Iron Dome in 2021 told Axios they're done providing financial aid.


More:  https://www.axios.com/2026/04/18/israel-us-support-congress-netanyahu

[Right_in_Virginia]

FTA:

The big picture: Older Republicans and white Evangelicals are the last groups to hold majority favorable views of Israel, according to recent Pew polling.

For every other group, Israel's favorability has collapsed since 2022.

⬇️ Down 31 percentage points among older Democrats (ages 50+).
⬇️ Down 22 percentage points among both younger Republicans/GOP leaners and younger Dems/Dem leaners.
⬇️ Down 14 percentage points among Protestants, 23 among Catholics and 20 among the religiously unaffiliated.
⬇️ Even white Evangelical support, which was at 80% in 2022, has slid by 15 points.

[Hoodat]

lol

[andy58-in-nh]

Propaganda does work.

Interestingly, the Pew survey did not ask participants for their opinion of Hamas, as such unwanted context might have distracted from the desired narrative.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Propaganda does work.

What propaganda are you referring to?

Interestingly, the Pew survey did not ask participants for their opinion of Hamas, as such unwanted context might have distracted from the desired narrative.

Why is this so interesting to you?  The question was about support for Israel.  Would it really matter if American opinion of Hamas was in free fall, too?   

[mountaineer]

I agree with David Limbaugh with regard to supporting Israel:

David Limbaugh
@DavidLimbaugh
The following comment is not intended to cause further strife between evangelicals and Catholics, but the opposite: I think there's been an effort to smear Israel-supporting evangelicals by flippantly calling them "Dispensationalists," meaning, essentially, that they are knuckle-dragging heretics.

Certain people use the label pejoratively to suggest that we Israel-supporting evangelicals are Dispensationalists who want to hasten the End Times and so are willing to support policies aimed at doing so, even if against the interests of the US.

A couple of points on that. Not all people who believe that the Abrahamic Covenant land promise was Israel-specific and is eternal (and still in force) are Dispensationalists. I, for one, firmly believe the land promise portion of the Abrahamic Covenant is Israel specific and still in force. But I don't consider myself a Dispensaitonalist, which involves more issues.

In fact, the late, revered John MacArthur was not a dispensationalist but did believe the land promise is to Israel specifically and for that purpose the church did not replace Israel. If I remember correctly, he said that sound, intellectually honest exegesis doesn't lead to that conclusion.

But a more important point is this: I would wager that the overwhelming majority of Bible-believing evangelicals do not believe we should try to pro-actively hasten the End Times. We are not to know the time of the Great Tribulation, etc. We are not to concern ourselves with the "when."

Because we believe in God's sovereignty (which is not incompatible with free will, in my opinion) and because we believe it is not for us to know when the End Times will occur, we should definitely not proactively try to usher it in. I am sure there are some who believe we should but I would think they are quite on the fringe.

I admit that I support Israel for theological reasons. I believe God's Covenant with Israel as to the land is permanent and I believe He meant what He said that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. I also support Israel as a strong ally for a host of other reasons.

My theological support for Israel does not mean  I would subordinate the interests of the US to those of Israel and it does not exempt Israel or immunize it from criticism.

I also don't expect others to share my belief or support Israel because of my theological beliefs about it. But I have a right to allow my theological beliefs and my overall Christian worldview to inform my policy positions, just like everyone has a right to do the same with their own worldview.

So please don't fall for the notion that all evangelical supporters of Israel are Dispensationlists and especially that they want to hasten the End Times. None in my orbit want to do that. They may say, "I hope Jesus returns soon," but they don't go further and say, "So let's do everything we can to facilitate that." That would be such a presumptuous and biblically disobedient posture.

I think history and scripture support my view that Israel is the apple of God's eye. As I and others have written, no nation in history has been dispersed for more than 5 or so generations and retained its ethnic identity and language, but Israel did. It not only retained it but in 1948, some 1900 years after it was routed by Rome in 70 AD it came back, miraculously, to the land. God had his hand in that. Then Israel, against all odds, won two wars against multiple surrounding nations committed to its destruction and extinction. We can go on and on-looking at the amazing things the Jewish people have done in that little nation and how advanced they are -- and how sophisticated they are and how amazing their intelligence and military forces are -- consider the beepers (otherworldly). Their success has by no means been all because the US has supported her, though our support has been very important.

So, bottom line, believe what you want about Israel. Believe the church replaced Israel for all purposes, but I don't. I believe the Bible is clear that when God promised Abraham He would bless all nations through him he meant Jews and Gentiles alike and he was referring to the Gospel -- way back in Genesis. So yes, certain promises in the Abrahamic Covenant do extend to Gentiles. But not the land promise. And from a Christian standpoint (again in my view, because by no means do I speak for all evangelicals) God isn't done with the Jewish people in any way. Read Romans 11. They are the vine and we are the branches grafted in.

You can believe if you wish that  we Israel-supporting evangelicals are all sitting around reading the Scofield Bible. I've never read it. Don't let the trouble-makers scare you into thinking Israel-supporting evangelicals are up to no good  and would ever subordinate the interests of the US for Israel. Don't believe they would hasten the End Times. The trouble-makers just want to make you think we're crazy and reckless to further alienate us against Israel, and to divide us for other reasons. Not true. Do with this what you will, but I'm trying to lay this out as honestly as I can. The entire field of dispensationalism is more complex and I see no reason to go into that, especially since I don't consider myself one.

Thank me for my attention to these matters.
10:42 PM · Apr 19, 2026

[andy58-in-nh]

What propaganda are you referring to?

Why is this so interesting to you?  The question was about support for Israel.  Would it really matter if American opinion of Hamas was in free fall, too?

I am referring to the endless stream of propaganda from both the Left and also, the antisemitic Right wherein Israel is cast as the aggressor, in spite of the fact that it is the only democracy in the Middle East and has been under more or less continuous missile bombardment by Iranian proxies (Hamas and Hezbollah) for the past 25 years.  Before that, Israel was set upon multiple times by Arab powers in wars that sought to destroy it. 

The question of Hamas is vital because a concomitant survey opinion about it may well have revealed the extent to which the aforementioned propaganda has been successful in re-framing Hamas as something other than what it is: a bloody terrorist organization funded by Iran that started the current war by invading Israel and killing over 1,200 innocent Jewish civilians.

[Right_in_Virginia]

I agree with David Limbaugh with regard to supporting Israel:
 

I admit that I support Israel for theological reasons. I believe God's Covenant with Israel as to the land is permanent and I believe He meant what He said that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed.

Was not the purpose of the Israelites' mission to bring Jesus Christ,  the new and eternal covenant, to the world?  Is there an exception to the covenant through Jesus?

Matthew 10

5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.

6. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting.

13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.

14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.

15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.

33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

Are Christians no longer charged with proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ to all, including the lost sheep of Israel? 

[bilo]

lol

 

I strongly believe there are clear theological reasons to support Israel. However, if you put those aside, the consequence of the holocaust is we have to stand with those who say "Never Again". The condemnation of Israel for wanting to exist ignores the threat Iran is for the USA. I believe the Iranian leadership when they claim the USA is the great Satan and have systematically worked to support those who seek to kill Americans.

The USA and the world will be much better off when the terrorism emanating from Iran is gone.

[libertybele]

"Bibi torched US support for Israel for a Generation".  So, again, we have condemnation of Bibi and Israel.  I immediately knew who started this thread.

I stand with Israel and Bibi and Israel will remain standing!


..."But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to eternity."......

Isaiah 45:10

[cato potatoe]

Now that the Israel Lobby has sucked the life out of the Republican party, they will walk over its corpse and latch onto the Democrats.  Remember, Netanyahu was the first to call and congratulate Joe Biden on his victory.  Gavin Newsom in particular seems open to their money, in spite of the rhetorical distancing.

[bigheadfred]

Was not the purpose of the Israelites' mission to bring Jesus Christ,  the new and eternal covenant, to the world?  Is there an exception to the covenant through Jesus?

Are Christians no longer charged with proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ to all, including the lost sheep of Israel?

Don't over think it.

[mountaineer]

Don't over think it.

Not so much overthinking as misdirecting.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Not so much overthinking as misdirecting.

Why not answer my question @mountaineer ....  I'll ask again:

Are Christians no longer charged with proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ to all, including the lost sheep of Israel?

[Right_in_Virginia]

Not so much overthinking as misdirecting.

Quoting the words of Jesus is "misdirecting" ?   

[escapeefromtaxachusetts]

Whoever was Prime Minister of Israel was going o be vilified by the left, be it BiBi or anyone else. As Golda Meir once said , ( paraphrsing)"if the choice is to be loved as  dead Jew or hated as a live Jew who fights back, I'd rather be the latter."

[Right_in_Virginia]

Don't over think it.

Can you explain what I'm overthinking, exactly?  Thanks.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Whoever was Prime Minister of Israel was going o be vilified by the left, be it BiBi or anyone else.

But, Israel's not just losing their blanket, automatic support among democrats.  Israel's losing this support among republicans, too --- and the younger generations in both parties.

[Hoodat]

Propaganda does work.

Interestingly, the Pew survey did not ask participants for their opinion of Hamas, as such unwanted context might have distracted from the desired narrative.

Apparently, @Right_in_Virginia is upset that Democrat support for Israel has declined since Trump took office.

[Hoodat]

But, Israel's not just losing their blanket, automatic support among democrats.  Israel's losing this support among republicans, too --- and the younger generations in both parties.

You should be overjoyed.  But instead, you pile on with Democrat Party talking points.  Go figure.

[mountaineer]

Quoting the words of Jesus is "misdirecting" ?   

Jesus spoke those words to his followers, not to Jews who didn't yet believe in him as Messiah. How can it be the "Israelites' mission to bring Jesus Christ, the new and eternal covenant, to the world" if they do not believe he is the Messiah? Jesus commanded his followers - Christians - to share the gospel and make disciples of all men.

By the way, I seem to remember that management discourages religious debate at this forum. I will respect that guidance.

[Hoodat]

Why not answer my question @mountaineer ....  I'll ask again:

Are Christians no longer charged with proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ to all, including the lost sheep of Israel?

Same Jesus.  Same author:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations

Matthew 24:14


So, @Right_in_Virginia - where did you come up with this idea that Christians are no longer charged with proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ to all?  Did you just make it up yourself?