Several Congressional Democrats have recently refused campaign contributions from AIPAC, the powerful Israel lobby, according to media reports. “Democrats who once counted AIPAC among their top donors have in recent weeks refused to take the group’s donations”, says a New York Times story titled "Democrats Pull Away From AIPAC, Reflecting a Broader Shift". “AIPAC is becoming an increasingly toxic brand for some Democrats on Capitol Hill," it says. It cites the example of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the minority leader, who has long been endorsed by the hardline AIPAC, has now chosen to accept the support of J Street, the competing Israel lobby that advocates a two-state solution.
![]() |
| Results of Recent Poll of American Jews. Source: Washington Post |
A recent poll conducted by the Washington Post has found that "most (American) Jews (61%) say Israel is committing war crimes — and 39% say genocide — while often distinguishing between the country and its leadership". American Jews are particularly unhappy with the current right-wing government of Israel. 68% give negative marks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership of Israel, with 48% it “poor” — a 20-percentage-point jump from a Pew Research Center poll five years ago.
Zohran Mamdani's campaign for the New York City mayor has brought into sharp focus the rapidly falling support for Israel amid the ongoing Gaza Genocide being perpetrated by the Zionist state. Newsweek has reported that Mamdani enjoys a 17-point lead among New York City's Jewish voters. Mamdani's top opponent Andrew Cuomo, former New York State governor, continues to significantly lag Mamdani in the polls in spite of having a huge funding advantage. A CBS News/YouGov poll (September 7–13) put Mamdani at 43% to Cuomo's 28%, a 15-point lead. A Marist survey the same week showed Mamdani ahead 45% to 24%, while Quinnipiac gave him a 22-point lead at 45% to 23%. An Emerson College poll for PIX11 and The Hill had a nearly identical 43% to 28% margin, and a New York Times/Siena poll (September 2–6) showed Mamdani leading 46% to 24%, according to Newsweek.
Mamdani's resounding win in New York City, a city that has the world's second largest Jewish population after Tel Aviv, will be particularly significant. It will send a clear message to American politicians, particularly Democrats, that they don't have to bow to hardline AIPAC to win elections.
Although the rebellion against AIPAC is mainly among Democrats, there's also growing anger among Trump's "America First" base who see the Trump Administration's policies as "Israel First". Prominent among Republican critics of Trump's pro-Israel policies are Republican Representatives Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene, talk show host Tucker Carlsen and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of Anti-Defamation League, has blamed the shift in the US public opinion against Israel on popular social app TikTok. “We really have a TikTok problem, a Gen Z problem,” he said in a leaked audio recording. “The same brains that gave us Taglit, the same brains that gave us all of these amazing other innovations, need to put our energy towards this, like fast.”
TikTok is particularly popular among young people. It has carried viral short videos of the Gaza Genocide over the last two years. The pressure from the Israel lobby forced the sale of Chinese-owned TikTok to an American Zionist group led by Oracle's billionaire founder Larry Ellison. Ellison has given tens of millions of dollars to pro-Israel groups. He is reported to be among the six American Zionist billionaires supporting Israel's wartime economy.
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
South Asia Investor Review
Modi and Netanyahu: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Israel's Gaza Attack is Criminal, Not Defensive
Congressman Massie Exposes Israel Lobby's Bullying Tactics
American College Campuses Rise Up Against Israel's Genocidal War on Gaza
Israeli Settler Colonialism
Islamophobia Driving US Policy in the Middle East and South Asia?
Israeli Scholars Offer Insights into Zionist Psyche
Total, Extended Lockdown in Indian Occupied Kashmir
What is India Hiding From the UN Human Rights Team?
Indian JNU Professor on Illegal Indian Occupation of Kashmir, Manipur, Nagaland
Riaz Haq Youtube Channel
PakAlumni: Pakistani Alumni Social Network
Riaz Haq
After Two Years of War, Israel Is Stronger—and More Isolated—Than Ever - The Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/after-two-years-of-war-israel...
Israel is emerging from the carnage as the regional hegemon with a string of military victories. But the country’s fight against Palestinian militant group Hamas also has left it increasingly politically isolated and at risk of losing long-term Western support that has been vital to its survival.
The deaths of more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local authorities, have revived global calls for Palestinian statehood and put Israel at odds with a solidifying international consensus.
Once recovered from the initial shock of the Hamas breakthrough and murderous spree on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel’s military has delivered a succession of crippling blows to the entire constellation of its strategic foes.
Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have been decapitated, the Assad regime in Syria has collapsed, and Iran’s military leadership, missile and nuclear programs have been badly damaged.
“Regionally, Israel is under less threat than it was two years ago,” said Shalom Lipner, a fellow at the Atlantic Council who served as an adviser to several Israeli prime ministers. “But internationally, it’s between a rock and a hard place, and the long-term trends are not working in its favor.”
Anger at Israel has spread from the Muslim world to Europe and increasingly the U.S., where large parts of the Democratic Party and a growing part of the MAGA movement have now turned against American assistance to Israel.
While President Trump has remained supportive, Israel’s new isolation has given him unusual leverage—a power that he has already exercised to block plans for annexing the West Bank, to make Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologize for a strike on Qatar, and to make Israel acquiesce to the latest Gaza cease-fire plan.
This alienation of Israel’s erstwhile friends around the world stands to erode, in a potentially lasting way, not only the standing of Netanyahu and his successors but also the long-term viability of Israel’s founding project.
From American university campuses to European high schools, solidarity with the Palestinian cause—and hostility to Zionism—have become the political markers of a new generation.
------------------
Saudi Arabia’s recent security pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan, as well as tighter cooperation between Arab nations and Turkey are all part of that regional response to the Israeli military strength, said retired British Air Marshal Martin Sampson, who heads the Middle East office of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and served as the U.K. government defense adviser to the Middle East.
“You see the development of beginnings of relationships with Iran and of sympathy for Iran over Israel,” he said. “The region never wanted a single dominant power in the region. They always thought it was going to be Iran, and now they’ve got one and it’s Israel. And Israel is a regional dominant power that freely exercises its hard-power capabilities.”
Oct 7
Riaz Haq
Megatron
@Megatron_ron
NEW:
🇺🇲🇮🇱 FBI Director Kash Patel says he cut ties with the Jewish organisation ADL
He says ADL lobbyists called in a panic when they found out the FBI was cutting ties with them.
"When word got out that I was about to kick the ADL out, do you know who called this building?"
"The lobbyists for ADL, begging for a phone call. And I said, 'No.' That's how I knew they were in the wrong the entire time, and we proved it."
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt publicly stated that every FBI cadet has been through the ADL brainwashing.
https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/1975508432686903564
------------
Shadow of Ezra
@ShadowofEzra
Turning Point USA has now admitted that the text messages released by Candace Owens about Charlie Kirk’s alleged blackmail with Israeli donors are authentic.
They also confirmed that Kirk wrote a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, warning him he was losing the public battle.
Andrew Kolvet added that Charlie Kirk was not someone who could be controlled.
https://x.com/ShadowofEzra/status/1975605232068424007
----------------
Al Jazeera English
@AJEnglish
The Anti-Defamation League has become the target of a sustained right-wing backlash after the Jewish advocacy group included an organisation founded by slain right-wing figure Charlie Kirk in its online database on extremism.
Here's all you need to know http://aje.io/v9tew5
https://x.com/AJEnglish/status/1974894856607813673
Oct 7
Riaz Haq
Prof. John Mearsheimer: "Israel is in DESPERATE STRAITS"
Israel has lost the public discourse.
Buying TikTok, CBS, Paramount isn’t going to change it.
https://youtu.be/La7dSCZCGmo?si=FgNNs0-uMZ85PGCo
Oct 15