Is MAGA Turning Against Israel?

Defence affairs - political analysis

MAGA leaders like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Steve Bannon are ramping up critiques of the Israeli government, breaking from decades-long Republican support of the U.S. ally.

U.S. support for Israel has been a cornerstone of GOP foreign policy for decades, but the relationship between U.S. and Israel is under increasing pressure amid its military operation in Gaza.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters led an attack against Israel,  abducting 251. Israel has said 58 hostages remain in Gaza, and that only 21 of them are believed to be alive. Israel has since launched an offensive on Gaza, killing more than 60,000 people, according to The Associated Press, citing Gaza's Health Ministry. Critics have sounded the alarm on Israel's military operation, raising concerns about the number of civilians killed or displaced.

While many Republicans remain supportive of Israel, the anti-intervention wing of the party has become increasingly skeptical about conditions in Gaza and concerns about whether U.S. aid to Israel is really benefiting Americans or its interests abroad. Israel is becoming a new dividing line among Republicans, with some allies close to President Donald Trump breaking with the party's longtime approach.

Greene, a Georgia conservative and close Trump ally in the House, this week became the first Republican elected official to refer to Israel's actions in Gaza as a "genocide."

"It's the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza," Greene wrote on X.

Earlier in July, she also introduced an amendment to pull funding from Israel's missile defense system, though it failed with only six members of Congress voting in favor.

Conservatives like Greene have raised concerns about whether military aid for Israel and other countries abroad is in line with the "America First" foreign policy embraced by some on the right. They have suggested that funding could instead be spent at home to tackle issues like the national debt or border security.