United States/Israel: American ambassador to Israel fears weakening support from future American generations

Outgoing US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew expresses grave concerns about the changing perception of Israel in the United States, particularly among future generations of policymakers. In an interview with The Times of Israel, he stressed that the current war in Gaza marks a decisive turning point.

“Joe Biden is the last president of his generation whose memories go back to the creation of Israel,” he observes, specifying that future American leaders, now aged 25 to 45, will only have the current conflict as a reference.

The ambassador criticizes in particular the ineffectiveness of Israeli communication in the face of Hamas’ media strategy. “America has received media coverage of this war that Israel has simply failed to counter effectively”he laments.

“Maintaining broad bipartisan support is a winnable challenge, but it must be a goal.”underlines the ambassador, who is concerned about the rise of pro-Palestinian sentiment among Democrats and an isolationist tendency among Republicans. He also believes that “Biden’s support for Israel over the past 15 months, in the face of strong opposition in the media and within his own party, has helped make his re-election challenge insurmountable.”

Faced with these challenges, Jack Lew emphasizes the strategic importance of maintaining strong ties with Saudi Arabia and moving forward on the Palestinian issue. “It remains deeply in the interest of Israel, Saudi Arabia and America that there be normalization”he says, while emphasizing that this will require “leaders willing to take political risks” on the Israeli side.