US Vice President JD Vance on Monday declined to endorse Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection even though US President Donald Trump had thrown his weight behind him a day earlier.
During an interview with journalist Mark Halperin, Vance said, “The president has the most influential endorsement in American or international political history.”
“I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on the midterms,” he said. Adding, “So, I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections.”
However, Vance had campaigned for then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban last spring before his party lost the parliamentary election.
Within the Republican Jewish community, there has been skepticism regarding Vance’s steadfastness toward Jewish Americans and the strategic partnership between the United States and Israel.
Moreover, concerns regarding antisemitism have surged across the political spectrum ahead of midterm elections.
Republicans have been eager to portray Democrats, notably Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, as hostile toward Jews and Israel, while they deal with their own internal schisms.
There has been some controversy brewing regarding Vance’s association with Carlson, a former Fox News host who faced backlash last year for interviewing antisemite Nick Fuentes on his podcast.
Vance’s Critical Moments Against Israel
Vance has openly criticised specific members of the Israeli government, particularly regarding their public opposition to the Trump administration’s diplomatic negotiations and preliminary agreements with Iran.
He had stated that “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time,” and cautioned that Israeli officials “risk losing everything” by jeopardising relations with the global superpower.
Vance reminded Netanyahu’s cabinet members that the two-thirds of defensive weapons that have protected Israel “have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars”.
“The problem for Israel is not Donald J Trump, and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in,” Vance said.
In July, Vance said elements of the Israeli government had tried to influence American sentiment to derail negotiations.
“There are some people within their system that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely,” Vance said during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
A Rebuke In Vance-Netanyahu Tense Call Amid Iran War
Earlier this year, Vance had a tense phone conversation with Netanyahu, during which he told the premier off for what he viewed as overly rosy assumptions about the war in Iran.
According to the outlet, Vance pressed Netanyahu on his confidence regarding the likelihood of regime change. One US official told Axios that “Before the war, Bibi really sold it to the president as being easy, as regime change being a lot likelier than it was. And the VP was clear-eyed about some of those statements”, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
After the call, a US official claimed Israel was actively undermining Vance, who has emerged as a central figure in ceasefire talks with the Islamic Republic. A long-time critic of open-ended foreign interventions, Vance is participating in negotiations alongside US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The same official alleged that Israel was responsible for reports suggesting Iran preferred negotiating with Vance because he might be more receptive to a deal to end the conflict. “It’s an Israeli op against JD,” the official told Axios.
(With inputs from agencies)
