Israeli elections pit Republicans against AIPAC
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s electoral alliance with the far-right Jewish Power party has created yet another partisan cleavage over Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s electoral dalliance with the extremist Jewish Power party has opened up a rift between Republicans and key pro-Israel groups in the United States.
With the embattled prime minister casting a wide net for allies amid his escalating legal troubles, both Democrats and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are warning that having what AIPAC called a “racist and reprehensible” party in government will make it more difficult to marshal bipartisan support for Israel. Republicans are taking the opposite approach, using the controversy to insist they’re the only ones standing with Israel through thick and thin.
“I’m not going to comment on an internal Israeli political decision and their system of government,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told Al-Monitor. “Ultimately our support is for the Jewish state. They’re a democracy, they have elections, so we respect that. We may not agree on every point with them … but they’re our ally and we support them.”
Fellow Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Mitt Romney, R-Utah, also declined to publicly weigh in on Jewish Power.
