Potential Democratic presidential candidate Rahm Emanuel will demand sweeping changes to the United States' alliance with Israel during a scheduled speech at Tel Aviv University on Wednesday.
The former U. S.
Ambassador to Japan and Chicago mayor plans to heavily criticize Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, signaling a major political shift within the centrist wing of the Democratic Party regarding unconditional foreign aid.
According to remarks obtained by The Associated Press, Emanuel will outline how the current diplomatic framework has reached a critical juncture that requires immediate reassessment.
"It cannot stand or survive as it has been," Emanuel will say. "To maintain the strength of our ties, we need significant changes and a new direction."
Proposed Policy Overhaul
The policy overhaul proposed by Emanuel includes enforcing sanctions on Israelis who target Palestinian civilians and property, alongside penalizing financial institutions that back illegal settlements.
Furthermore, he intends to advocate for the termination of direct U. S.
subsidies to the Israeli defense budget, arguing that military purchases should follow standard foreign procurement rules.
Emanuel will directly attribute the strategic gridlock to Netanyahu, asserting that unchecked American backing has enabled poor decision-making by the current administration in Jerusalem.
"For too long, American policy toward Israel operated under the assumption that the best thing Washington could do for Jerusalem was to blindly and silently stand behind your government, without conditions, without demands, and without consequences when we disagreed," he will say.
"Unconditional support has produced a prime minister who has presumed that his strategic interests would incur no cost if he ignored America's concerns."
Data from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey highlights this shifting sentiment, revealing that 58% of Democrats now believe the U.
S. is too supportive of Israel, an increase from 45% in January 2024.
Additionally, roughly half of Democrats believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, a claim verified by several international bodies but denied by Israel and the U.
S. government.
Emanuel will also highlight the growing international isolation facing Israel due to the prolonged conflict, warning that the nation is losing vital global partnerships.
"Support for Israel is plummeting around the world," Emanuel will note. "You've lost Europe.
Your scientists face exclusion from international research networks. Your artists and academics are shut out of exhibits and conferences."
The upcoming address represents an unusually aggressive strategy for an American figure with presidential ambitions, particularly as Netanyahu faces his own reelection campaign in October.
