It was enough to provoke some debate among Democrats over Muslim leaders’ decision to support third-party candidates in the recent US election. Some of them were expecting apologies for an alleged strategic mistake. They won’t find one here. Instead, the focus should be on a Democratic Party that has openly supported Israel’s 13-month-long assault on Gaza, which resulted in thousands of Palestinian deaths. Far from passive bystanders, the Biden administration has assisted this campaign through funding and military aid.

A Bipartisan Commitment to Israel

This entrenched US support for Israel is not solely a product of Democrats. President Joe Biden recently declared the US’s “ironclad” commitment to Israel, a perspective shared across party lines. The US has funneled more than $22 billion in military aid to Israel since October 2023, while Americans recovering from domestic disasters like Hurricane Helene have seen a fraction of that assistance. This situation shows how Israel’s security always takes precedence over domestic needs, which is supported by the bipartisan nature of US foreign policy.

Advocates for this partnership characterize Israel as “the only democracy in the Middle East” or, simply, a “strategic ally” with the same “Judeo-Christian values”. Critics, however, say that the apartheid policies of Israel and the continued occupation go against these principles. Suffering Palestinian segregation, home demolitions, and mass casualties are swept aside as part of the cost for a neighbor who has been a loose cannon in regional relationships for years. This kind of blind allegiance is institutionalized in a political atmosphere where dissent becomes considered antisemitism, thereby silencing any criticism of Israel’s policies.

Funding Genocide: A Cautionary Tale of Misplaced Priorities

This is certainly not the first moral cost of the Biden administration in support of Israel. Over the past year, at least 43,000 Palestinians were killed while their reports on human rights and destruction in Gaza were left unaddressed. Still, US aid keeps rolling in, unchecked. The $22 billion given to Israel dwarfs the meager assistance to American citizens after national crises. Such priorities have led many to question the rationality of this relationship, arguing that there are no tangible benefits in backing an increasingly isolated Israel in the Middle East.

Instead, according to political scientist John Mearsheimer, this support from the United States to Israel is neither rational nor strategic. The imaginary and romanticized notion of Israel’s “moral” army and democratic values is dressed up to cover the dark reality on the ground: segregation, violence, and systematic oppression of Palestinians. Still, any criticism of this relationship often gets brushed off as antisemitism, a means of shutting down opposition and keeping things the same.

What a Second Trump Term Could Mean

If Trump returns to the White House, his picks for a cabinet indicate an even deeper entrenchment in pro-Israel policy. His nominees are not shy about their unwavering support. Mike Huckabee, nominated as ambassador to Israel, dreams of building a holiday home in the occupied West Bank, denying the very existence of occupation. Other notable figures in Trump’s team include Lee Zeldin and Marco Rubio, who have been pushing for legislation to criminalize the BDS movement that aims to pressure Israel into respecting the rights of Palestinians.

Trump’s “America First” rhetoric has already proven hollow, as his administration’s foreign policy was as thoroughly enmeshed with Israeli interests as any of his predecessors. A second term for Trump likely would include additional military aid, increased settlement expansion in the West Bank, and suppression of Palestinian voices. Finally, the policy may drive US-Israeli relations down into darker territory, further alienating the Arab and Muslim worlds and upending any pretension of American neutrality.

A Real ‘America First’ Agenda?

A genuine America First program would mean rethinking what unconditional, blank-cheque U.S. support for Israel looks like. End the blank cheque for a regime that repeatedly tramples on fundamental human rights, and new “diplomatic space” might open up right across the Middle East. Instead of prioritizing Israeli security over U.S. domestic needs, a pivot away from dependency on Israel might win goodwill right across the Arab and Muslim worlds.

The upcoming Trump presidency, if it follows the expected trajectory, will likely deepen American complicity in Israeli actions, escalating an already volatile situation. The question remains: will US leaders—whether Democrat or Republican—ever shift focus from defending Israel at all costs to prioritizing American interests and human rights abroad? Or will the cycle of unconditional support continue, fueling resentment and conflict in a region desperate for a just peace?