"Our safety net is disappearing": Former head of Aman warns of the collapse of support in the US

Public opinion in the United States is becoming increasingly negative toward Israel. It started with the Democrats, where what was until recently a radical fringe became mainstream, and continued with a new trend among a certain camp in the Republican Party, which is gaining strength under the leadership of Vice President J.D. Vance.

"Our safety net from sanctions is disappearing," said former head of Aman, Tamir Hayman, this morning (Monday) to our analyst Nadav Eyal at the opening of the National Security Conference organized by ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth in collaboration with the INSS. This safety net, Hayman explained, relied on very deep sympathy for Israel among the American public, which was expressed in bipartisan support and led to the thwarting of any attempt to bring Israel to the status of a pariah state under sanctions. "We are like a tightrope walker playing on a thin rope," he said, "expanding the boundaries of the campaign while this net is disappearing."

Hayman, who serves as director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), asked to draw attention to one figure: public opinion among those aged 50 and under in the US. "Among Democrats in this age group, 86% hold a negative view of Israel," he said. "And among Republicans, 56% in this age group hold a negative view. Even among Evangelical Christians, more than half hold a negative view. This public opinion will be reflected in the corridors of power in Washington. These are the next representatives, senators, members of Congress. Support among them is dwindling, and as a mirror image, support for the Palestinian narrative is much greater." He noted that for those aged 30 or 25 and under, the picture is much worse.

"In the US military, our situation is good," said Hayman. "There is a generation of commanders who greatly admire Israeli capabilities. But in the White House, we are relying on one person. And many in Israel are betting on the future of relations with the US through Marco Rubio, who has not yet won the primaries to run for US president. This is a very dangerous bet."

"There are serious American problems of loss of moral and value-based direction in the districts of the excessive 'woke' left," said Hayman about the circumstances that led to the current situation. "There are lawyers who specialize in dog rights over human rights, very strange things that happened that brought about a backlash. The population with the least possibility to prosper is a white Protestant Christian male. This perception that the US is not what the US is, is a phenomenon not related to Israel, it is related to internal problems. To this area, resource-rich campaigns connected the national future of the US to the Palestinian narrative, mainly on behalf of Qatar, which funds a great many media platforms and within universities."

Even among the American right, Israel has a problem. "The backlash to that progressive left created xenophobia and hatred of immigrants, and a desire to return to white Protestant nationalism. Jews in this matter are perceived as a hostile factor among parts of the deep American right. They declare it completely clearly that Israel is an enemy of the US, and treat Jews in terms that you will not find a difference between them and what we saw in Germany in the 30s. So there is hatred of Jews and antisemitism in the right-wing districts, and hatred of Israel and hatred of Zionism in the left-wing districts, and this thing is growing among the youth," said Hayman.

Despite everything, Hayman says that one must not give up on American public opinion, and listed several things that can be done. "There is a huge audience of Israel supporters, biased in advance — Jews — and we are giving up on them because most of them are not Orthodox. This community is important. In addition, one must present a vision that returns Israel to the status of a small, innovative country aspiring to peace and security, which wants to bring order and does not want to undermine its enemies. One must present a path, some kind of solution, to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which will give some kind of hope. And a third thing: Israel is not alone in the world, there is also Europe, which we gave up on regarding security — and that must not be done. We are part of the European economic, cultural, and security fabric."

When will Israel act in Iran? The former head of Aman, who serves in the reserves in the Intelligence Directorate and took a central part in Operation "Lion's Roar," also referred to reports of a major American attack in Iran that was canceled for the time being. "As long as there is no real, significant utility that changes reality — that President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu understand that it is really worth the price — then they are looking for something else," said Hayman. "What was proposed is more of the same." According to him, "anyone who knows the Iranians knows that even a blow of fire, the purpose of which is to cause them pain, will not cause them to suddenly retreat and agree to everything they did not agree to until now. The price you might pay for this lack of utility is probably not worth it."

"We will always examine two clocks and two situations — the fall of the regime and a nuclear Iran, what will happen first," said Hayman. "In my assessment, Israel will not tolerate crossing a certain line in nuclear development. Iran meanwhile is not resting on its laurels and is doing things in this area as well. Ultimately, the end of such regimes is to fall, and the question is only whether Iran will obtain the ultimate insurance policy of authoritarian regimes (a nuclear bomb)."