Now the third great failure is unfolding before us in all its glory: the failure of Israeli public relations. It's clear the country will have a hard time surviving a term under the far-right government.
What began as a camp of pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University, where the New York police have made dozens of arrests, has quickly spread to universities across the United States and elsewhere. We've seen a nasty wave of calls such as "Blow up Tel Aviv and Israel," "Burn Tel Aviv to the ground" and "Al-Qasam's next targets" – referring to pro-Israel protesters and Hamas' military wing.
The peak event was at Columbia, which has blocked the entry of Israeli business school professor Shai Davidai on the grounds that his safety can't be guaranteed. These are shocking images that we find hard to believe are happening in the America of 2024.
True, the United States proved its strong support for Israel this week when the Senate approved an aid package by a large majority. But the images from the campuses, along with long-term trends in the administration, media and overall society, are jeopardizing that support.
Israel has lost the universities. This happened in a sociopolitical struggle lasting many years in American society, a struggle largely rooted in the progressive concepts and culture that have swept up young Americans. These concepts are widely espoused at academic institutions and ultimately changed the framing of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The new narrative identifies Zionism with oppression and imperialism, to the point of denying Israel's right to exist and the Jewish people's connection to the Land of Israel.
All this, along with the multiyear failure of Israeli PR, which didn't seriously address the issue, has produced today's situation: a monstrous and funded call for the destruction of Israel.
The decline in support for Israel can be seen in polls conducted since October 7 among Americans between 18 and 24: Half express support for Hamas and most object to U.S. President Joe Biden's policy toward Israel. These are the same young people who at elite universities now wave "From the river to the sea" signs and call for an intifada.
In the future, we may see these young people in the Senate, the courts, the economic leadership and even the White House. It's obvious that the anti-Israel/antisemitic position is affecting the Americans' policy, especially in an election year when the candidates can't ignore potential voters.
We saw the trailer for the possible loss of support a month ago when the United States dramatically didn't veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and a release of the hostages without condemning Hamas. That was a rift in U.S.-Israel relations that caused the Prime Minister's Office to cancel an Israeli delegation to Washington.
Israel is now at a crossroads in its relations with the United States. The U.S. administration is providing extraordinary military support, but it's also applying sanctions on far-right activists and leaders of illegal outposts, with sanctions on the way against the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion.
The undermining of American support and the chances that it might slow the flow of aid are a clear and present danger for Israel. The past few months have demonstrated the degree of our dependency on U.S. diplomatic, economic and military support, and in Israel's current delicate situation, a weakening of the U.S. efforts is enough to seriously harm our defense.
The Israeli government and defense establishment must act immediately to correct the situation; actually it should have acted long ago. Resources should be channeled to hire the best people – experts in foreign relations, especially relations with Washington – and task them with identifying sources of influence. Even if it's very late, these experts would redirect the American dialogue.
Meanwhile, instead of correcting things, learning lessons and taking responsibility like a leader, the Diaspora minister attacked the U.S. president. And the prime minister, "Mr. Different League" who for years has claimed he's a foreign relations genius, is busy – in the international arena too – lobbying for himself, not the country.
Netanyahu must immediately work with U.S. legislators and governors to promote appropriate legislation, establish relations with donors, launch a plan in cooperation with the U.S. administration, creatively fight on social media and strengthen U.S. Jewish organizations, communities and friends of Israel.
Ultimately, the world wants a militarily strong – but democratic – Israel that doesn't work with far-rightists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. The damage of the "full right-wing government" is therefore immense also from a PR perspective. If the leadership isn't changed soon, Biden's team may be the last Democratic administration to support Israel.
MK Efrat Rayten heads the Labor Party caucus in the Knesset.