As Israel’s Gaza City offensive intensifies, the lack of a “fully articulated policy” on the part of Donald Trump’s White House means that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can move ahead with a “blank check” from the U.S., said Haaretz Washington correspondent Ben Samuels, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.

The message from Trump officials to Israel is “do what you need to do, just get it over with fast,” while in public statements, they have shifted to align with Israel’s “all-or-nothing” approach to a hostage deal.

“Trump is not giving Israel a red light,” Samuels said. “To Israel, that means a green light.” 

On the podcast, Samuels analyzed the dramatic shifts in both the Republican and Democratic parties regarding Israel ahead of the 2026 midterms, predicting that the upcoming election will “be the one where Israel becomes a top-tier front-of-mind issue that could really divide voters and could really sway races one way or another” in both of the parties. 

With the GOP in particular, he noted, “a growing number of mainstream Republicans, along with the isolationist MAGA wing are openly asking, ‘Why are our dollars going to funding a foreign war rather than making the lives better for Americans at home?’”

Democrats, he added, “are just not going to take what Israel's saying at face value anymore.” All of this contributes, he said, to the “inflection point” at which American Jews find themselves nearly two years into the Gaza war. 

“I think we are going to look at this as a foundational shift in how this generation and the next views the U.S.-Israel relationship, as well as the relationship of American Jews to Israel.”

Read more:

'They Tend to Die': Trump Says Israel, Hamas May Sign Gaza Cease-fire Deal 'Very Soon,' and Repeated That Some of the Living Hostages May Have Died

Trump Says Israel Has Lost Its 'Total Control' of Congress, Is Losing PR War Over Gaza

The Dam Has Broken. For Mainstream Democrats, Israel Is Now a Pariah

The Next Generation of Republicans Is Turning Away From Israel

As Israel&rsquo;s Gaza City offensive intensifies, the lack of a &ldquo;fully articulated policy&rdquo; on the part of Donald Trump&rsquo;s White House means that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can move ahead with a &ldquo;blank check&rdquo; from the U.S., said Haaretz Washington correspondent Ben Samuels, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.
The message from Trump officials to Israel is &ldquo;do what you need to do, just get it over with fast,&rdquo; while in public statements, they have shifted to align with Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;all-or-nothing&rdquo; approach to a hostage deal.
&ldquo;Trump is not giving Israel a red light,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da25-d718-a5ff-faa551710000">Samuels</a> said. &ldquo;To Israel, that means a green light.&rdquo;&nbsp;
On the podcast, Samuels analyzed the dramatic shifts in both the Republican and Democratic parties regarding Israel ahead of the 2026 midterms, predicting that the upcoming election will &ldquo;be the one where Israel becomes a top-tier front-of-mind issue that could really divide voters and could really sway races one way or another&rdquo; in both of the parties.&nbsp;
With the GOP in particular, he noted, &ldquo;a growing number of mainstream Republicans, along with the isolationist MAGA wing are openly asking, &lsquo;Why are our dollars going to funding a foreign war rather than making the lives better for Americans at home?&rsquo;&rdquo;
Democrats, he added, &ldquo;are just not going to take what Israel's saying at face value anymore.&rdquo; All of this contributes, he said, to the &ldquo;inflection point&rdquo; at which American Jews find themselves nearly two years into the Gaza war.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think we are going to look at this as a foundational shift in how this generation and the next views the U.S.-Israel relationship, as well as the relationship of American Jews to Israel.&rdquo;
Read more:
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2025-09-08/ty-article/.premium/trump-says-gaza-cease-fire-deal-imminent-repeats-that-some-hostages-may-have-died/00000199-27c1-d3e4-abb9-67cd2b5b0000">'They Tend to Die':&nbsp;Trump Says Israel, Hamas May Sign Gaza Cease-fire Deal 'Very Soon,' and Repeated That Some of the Living Hostages May Have Died</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-09-03/ty-article/trump-says-israel-has-lost-its-total-control-of-congress-is-losing-pr-war-over-gaza/00000199-0af4-d336-addd-6fff95f50000">Trump Says Israel Has Lost Its 'Total Control' of Congress, Is Losing PR War Over Gaza</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2025-08-26/ty-article/.highlight/the-dam-has-broken-for-mainstream-democrats-israel-is-now-a-pariah/00000198-e7ae-df79-a39d-f7fe62c20000">The Dam Has Broken. For Mainstream Democrats, Israel Is Now a Pariah</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-07-18/ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-next-generation-of-republicans-is-turning-away-from-israel/00000198-13a7-d13e-adfb-13e7ef150000">The Next Generation of Republicans Is Turning Away From Israel</a>

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Your audio guide to Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Haaretz Podcast

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

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