William Marshall

The bad news keeps piling up. What happened in America last night is a catastrophe. Take AIPAC’s worst nightmares, double them, and you still don’t get close. The only consolation is that Abdul El-Sayed won his Senate seat by a smaller margin than expected. Will the Democrats learn that anti-Israel politics and antisemitism cost you votes? I doubt it. And a great many Jews voted for him anyway. It’s getting worse. First the Democrats blamed Israel for America’s troubles: grocery prices, America’s slipping standing, the war with Iran. Now, with JD Vance’s tweet and Donald Trump Jr.’s share, the Republicans are blaming Israel for the Republican Party’s troubles. Vance’s message: we stuck too close to Israel. That is far more dangerous. Israel now faces its biggest challenge in Washington since at least the 1975 “reassessment,” when Ford and Kissinger froze arms deals to pressure Jerusalem. There’s only one answer I know of: a national unity government. Flirting with a new election, a minority government propped up by the Arab parties, or a deal with the Haredim would be a grave mistake.