ByTOVAH LAZAROFF/JTA

JULY 8, 2026 06:05

Updated: JULY 8, 2026 08:46

Rahm Emanuel intends to label the drive for Greater Israel a damaging illusion in remarks to a Tel Aviv crowd on Wednesday, describing the notion as destructive and extreme in the same way as the slogan from the river to the sea.

The veteran Democratic figure, who has occupied senior posts in Congress, the Obama administration and his party, is viewed as a possible contender for the presidency in 2028.

He plans to caution that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is steering the nation toward a dead end that has made Israel a pariah and is putting the longstanding US alliance at risk, based on an early copy of the address given to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Tuesday.

He described as a shared error Washingtons belief that the strongest support it could offer was unconditional and silent backing of the Israeli government, free of conditions or repercussions. That course produced outcomes such as radical Israeli groups harassing West Bank Palestinians and food shortages affecting Gazans, leaving Israel more isolated than ever before and creating what he calls a ticking clock for its safety.

His text instead calls for a completely fresh strategy in the partnership.

Emanuel also faulted Palestinians for blocking peace efforts

He simultaneously faulted the Palestinians for errors and barriers to peace across the years. He condemned their backers in the US who favor replacing Israel with a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

Those repeating from the river to the sea must understand clearly that they will not succeed, he states in the prepared text. Yet those advocating a greater Israel must likewise grasp that they too will not prevail. Both amount to illusions promoted by extremists.

Emanuel, a former Illinois congressman, Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff under Barack Obama, is weighing a 2028 presidential bid. His visit has drawn coverage because his positions on Israel may hint at his partys future stance, especially coming from a Jewish politician with strong personal links to the country. He once served as a civilian volunteer with the Israeli military, and his father held Israeli citizenship.

The trip, meant to stress the US-Israel alliance and push for fresh regional diplomacy, occurs as some Democrats distance themselves from Israel to appeal to voters amid declining support for the country.

An April Pew Research Center survey showed 60 percent of Americans view Israel unfavorably, with even higher negativity among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, where eight in ten expressed negative opinions.

Key points in Emanuels address

The prepared remarks highlight his personal ties to Israel and his familys role in its founding, noting that an uncle who belonged to the pre-state underground is interred on Jerusalems Mount of Olives. His father, Benjamin, was born in Jerusalem in 1927, fought in the 1948 War of Independence and later moved to the United States, raising his children in Chicago.

Emanuel will review Israels repeated peace initiatives despite Palestinian attacks during the second intifada and the Hamas assault of October 7, 2023.

He will note that he grasps Israels skepticism toward future deals with the Palestinians, given that earlier offers of sovereignty in return for security often met violence.

I see why even those who oppose the Netanyahu government often reject outside criticism, Emanuel wrote, while stressing that corrupt Palestinian leaders have failed to meet their peoples hopes for sovereignty and self-rule.

Yet he added that Israels future cannot remain captive to past grievances alone, warning that such an approach risks the historic US alliance, now at a turning point. Israel must combine military and diplomatic steps rather than depend only on force, he stated.

Israel risks further isolation from global partners

Israel will stand alone if its leaders opt to annex the West Bank and chase the dream of a greater Israel, Emanuel plans to declare.

America will neither join nor accept such a move, he wrote, noting past errors of offering unconditional backing to Netanyahus government.

The speech urges ending the American taxpayers support for Israels defense budget, arguing that Israel should purchase US weapons under the same financial rules applied to other allies that follow US laws.

The address outlines a wide policy for a two-state solution that opposes extremist Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians and illegal West Bank settlement activity, yet avoids detailing positions on contentious matters such as Jerusalems status or basing borders on pre-1967 lines.

Emanuel does not name the US advocacy group J Street, but the text echoes its 23-state concept introduced last year, encompassing 21 Arab states plus Israel and a Palestinian state, with Arab League recognition of Israel.

Such regional ties would position Israel and the broader Middle East as a technology and trade corridor linking Europe and India, he intends to say.

Blueprint for broader regional peace

To reach this regional accord, Emanuel continues, Arab states must back a Palestinian authority that recognizes the Jewish historic link to Israel, ceases inciting hatred toward Israel among its youth and halts payments to terrorists who attack Jews.

Israel, he wrote, must cease unilateral moves in the West Bank, avoid bolstering damaging groups and back genuine partners for peace.

This vision depends on a three-part US regional policy that taps Arab desires for stability, Israels security needs and Palestinian calls for sovereignty.

The political gains for all sides would exceed what a two-state deal alone could deliver, yet each party must fulfill its commitments, he wrote.

The other route, he noted, has left Israel isolated and viewed as a pariah.

Israel has not turned its military successes into lasting strategic gains, Emanuel is expected to state, adding that the country has lost European backing and faces shrinking US support. Unconditional US aid without conditions or accountability has proven mistaken, he said, attributing Israels weakened global position to Netanyahus policies.

A centrist Jewish Democrat endorsing a stance advanced by J Street, founded in 2008 to offset AIPACs influence, shows how far the American Israel Public Affairs Committees goal of bipartisan consensus has weakened.

Emanuel plans to recall past clashes with Netanyahu, who as White House chief of staff once called him a self-loathing Jew for opposing West Bank settlement building.

Netanyahu cannot indefinitely oppose a world that no longer accepts his right to fight, Emanuel wrote. He must instead seek a fresh, viable route to peace, security and prosperity.

Otherwise, he wrote, the US would stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel as it advanced peace and security.