ByTOVAH LAZAROFF/JTA

JULY 9, 2026 05:39

Democrats can capture the White House in 2028 without ending support for Israel, but only if the current rules governing the alliance between the two nations shift, veteran politician Rahm Emanuel said at Tel Aviv University on Wednesday.

Emanuel offered these remarks in reply to a query from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. He emphasized that the existing arrangement, where criticism is off limits and an automatic endorsement of Israel prevails, cannot continue.

Emanuel, most recently the US ambassador to Japan, is considering a presidential run in 2028. He is a former US congressman from Illinois as well as a former Chicago Mayor. He served as White House Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama.

His visit has drawn media focus because his views on Israel may hint at his party's future direction on the topic, especially coming from a Jewish politician with strong connections to the country. Emanuel once volunteered as a civilian with the Israeli army and his father was an Israeli citizen.

At a moment when backing for the Jewish state faces growing resistance at the polls, Emanuel gave a public speech underscoring his personal links to the country and rejecting pro-Palestinian demonstrators who have advocated for Israel's elimination.

He singled out those among the protesters who backed the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and another 251 taken captive.

"For those that paraded, celebrated and cheered on Oct. 8, what happened on Oct. 7, your moral bankruptcy speaks louder than any words today," he said in his speech. The line had not appeared in his prepared remarks, which the JTA obtained on Tuesday.

'Fantasies chanted by fanatics'

"Those chanting 'from the river to the sea' need to hear this loud and clear: they will never have their way," said Emanuel, who also condemned Israelis and Jews pursuing a vision of Greater Israel, in which a Jewish state rather than a Palestinian state would occupy the entire stretch of land.

"Both are fantasies chanted by fanatics," he said.

Emanuel said he came as a friend to caution Israel that its alliance with the United States is at a tipping point due to the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led the country to a dead end that has turned the Jewish state into a pariah nation.

"Israel has failed to convert its military wins into strategic advantages," Emanuel said in the speech, noting that the country has lost Europe and its support in the US is plummeting.

Pushing back at concerns regarding growing opposition to Israel within his Democratic Party, he said Israel had an American problem, not a partisan one.

A Pew Research Center Poll published in April found that 60% of Americans had an unfavorable view of Israel, but its standing was worse among Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents, where 8 out of 10 had negative views about Israel.

A survey released Tuesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has 44% approval among US Jews, compared with 32% who approve of Netanyahu.

Emanuel highlighted his deep connection to the Jewish state and his family's sacrifice in bringing it into being, noting that his uncle, a member of the pre-state underground, is buried on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives. His father, Benjamin, was born in Jerusalem in 1927 and fought in Israel's 1948 War of Independence before immigrating to the United States, where he raised his family in Chicago.

Emanuel recounted Israel's history of overtures in the name of peace, explaining that he understands Israel's cynicism regarding any future arrangement with the Palestinians since Israel's past offers of Palestinian sovereignty in exchange for security were frequently met with violence.

"I understand why, even if you oppose the Netanyahu government, you are so prone to dismiss criticism from the outside world," Emanuel said in the speech, arguing that a corrupt Palestinian leadership has never lived up to the Palestinian people's legitimate aspirations for sovereignty and self-determination.

Still, Israel's future cannot be held hostage to a past defined exclusively by recriminations, he said, as he urged Israel to embark on a path that pairs military and diplomatic efforts, rather than relying solely on military prowess.

"Israel will be alone if its leaders choose to attempt to annex the West Bank," Emanuel said.

"America will not and cannot be complicit or complacent in that endeavor," he wrote, explaining that it has erred in the past by blindly and silently supporting Netanyahu's government.

He blamed as our mistake America's assumption that the best thing Washington could do for Jerusalem was to blindly and silently stand behind your government, without conditions, without demands, and without consequences. That path has led to policies, including Israeli extremists terrorizing West Bank Palestinians and Gazans suffering from a lack of food, that means Israel has never been so isolated, a situation that he called a countdown clock for the country's security.

He called for an end to the American taxpayer's subsidy of Israel's defense budget, maintaining that Israel should buy US arms with the same financial terms and restrictions as every other ally that abides by our laws.

Emanuel also laid out a broad-based two-state solution, though he did not spell out prescriptions for divisive issues such as the future of Jerusalem or using the pre-1967 lines for determining the borders of a Palestinian state.

Emanuel did not mention the US-based political advocacy group J Street in his speech, but he picked up on the 23-state policy idea that J Street put forward last year, involving 21 Arab states, alongside Israeli and Palestinian ones, that would include recognition of Israel by the Arab League.

A centrist Jewish Democrat embracing a policy promulgated by J Street, a group founded in 2008 to counter the influence of what was then the mainstream pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, illustrates the degree to which the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its credo of creating a bipartisan consensus of support for Israel has eroded.

'Real partners in pursuit of peace'

The regional integration he is promoting, Emanuel said, would allow for Israel and the larger Middle East to become a technological and transit hub for trade between Europe and India.

To achieve this regional peace, Emanuel continued, the Arab states would have to support a Palestinian governing entity that would accept the historic Jewish connection to Israel, stop teaching its children to hate Israel and end the heinous practice of financially rewarding terrorists who kill Jews.

Israel, he said, would have to halt unilateral actions in the West Bank, stop nurturing harmful organizations and support real partners in pursuit of peace.

This scenario rests on a three-part US policy in the region that would leverage the Arab world's desire for stability, Israel's need for security and Palestinian demands for sovereignty, Emanuel said.

The political benefits for all parties would be far greater than a two-state solution could ever offer. But to get there, everyone would need to make good on their piece of the bargain, he said.

Netanyahu, he added, cannot fight indefinitely against a world that has stopped believing you have the right to fight. You must instead find a new sustainable path to peace, security and prosperity.

Alternatively, he said, the United States would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel as it pursued peace and security.