Overhauling the US-Israel Relationship

The Palestinian solidarity movement and a broad assortment of peace groups are sounding the alarm: Netanyahu is visiting Mar-a-Lago for the sixth time in less than a year, reportedly to coax Trump and the US military to bomb Iran again. Worrisome as that “bright shiny object” is, the more disturbing long-term agenda, which will be much less discussed in the mainstream media, is pressing Trump, the Pentagon, and key Congressional figures to establish an expensive and dangerous reboot of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The current MOU, a 10-year agreement which runs through fiscal year 2028, authorizes $4 billion per year in US military aid to Israel. Netanyahu is pressing for a new MOU that would increase the annual amount to $8 billion for 20 years. Double the money for twice as long. US taxpayers on the hook for $160 billion until the midpoint of the 21st century. And this would be merely the guaranteed baseline. As we’ve seen, to supply the genocide in Gaza, the US gave Israel an additional $13.4 billion in devastating offensive weapons. There are three major reasons why this audacious proposal should be dead on arrival:

• Basic morality – Israel is a rogue state which has committed egregious violations of international law for the entire 77 years of its existence. The genocide in Gaza and the escalating ethnic cleansing in the West Bank are not aberrations. They are best understood as belonging intrinsically to Israel’s sordid history of human rights atrocities and war crimes dating back to the Nakba (the violent expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians and the destruction of 450 villages in 1947-1949). Top Israeli governmental officials are on record stating that international law does not apply to Israel. Despite being signatories to the Geneva Conventions and the basic structure of international law, Israel consistently declares itself to be an exception. Israel arrogates to itself the right to seek its own national interest unrestrained by international law. Israel essentially insists on impunity. It is a small country which has always been dependent on the military, financial, and diplomatic support of larger world powers. First the British, then the Americans, filled that role, not altruistically, but for their own geopolitical interests. The United States is clearly complicit in all of it from the 1940s to the present. Yet, the US shields Israel from accountability for its crimes, not to mention refusing to confront its own guilt, and allowing itself to be held accountable for it. From a moral standpoint, the United States should long ago have separated itself from Israel’s dispossession, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and now, genocide. Without question, the United States should now overhaul its relationship with Israel. This would mean ending US military aid to Israel. It would mean ending diplomatic cover in the United Nations. It would mean holding Israel accountable for its atrocities and systematic violations of Palestinian rights. It would mean Israeli and American war criminals being prosecuted. This is not vindictive. It is principled moral reasoning that wrongdoing cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. Justice for those who have been so blatantly wronged demands it. Any future world capable of restraining evil requires it.

• Pragmatic politics – If there was ever a time to overhaul the US-Israeli relationship, it is now. For the past two years, polls have indicated a profound shift in American public sentiment regarding Israel and Palestine. In general, there are strong trendlines toward greater sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people, greater interest in protecting Palestinian rights, and greater willingness to speak up for the Palestinian cause. At the same time, there have been equally strong trendlines showing weakening support for Israel, more votes in Congress for resolutions and legislation that openly criticizes Israel and seeks to end American policy’s “blank check” for Israel. Pro-Palestinian initiatives in Congress that used to get 20-25 co-endorsers now are routinely getting triple that many. While the signs in Congress are encouraging, public sentiment is galloping ahead of Congress. An October 2025 poll from the Institute for Middle East Understanding showed that a supermajority of active voters support an arms embargo on Israel, view US policy toward Israel-Palestine as a “top three” factor in their voting, and want to see a new policy. Here are some of the receipts: 65% of Democratic voters support imposing sanctions on the Israeli government, 72% believe Israel is committing genocide, and 75% oppose renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) discussed above. 90% of Gen Z Democrats want to reduce US support for Israel. Republican voters are polling at 10-15% less, but still show the trend away from unquestioning support for Israel. Young Republican voters are closer to Democrats on these issues.

• Solidarity with the suffering – Basic morality dictates the necessity of not allowing wrongdoing to continue unchecked. Pragmatic politics show that American public sentiment has already changed in favor of the Palestinian cause. Both are strong arguments for overhauling the US-Israel relationship. But, to my mind, the strongest reason for radically transforming this relationship is the impact it would have on the ground in Palestine. In the recent Kairos Palestine 2025 statement – “A Moment of Truth – Faith in a Time of Genocide” – which we have explored in the last two newsletters, we read these powerful words: “While the peoples of the world have stood in solidarity with us, the genocidal war has laid bare the hypocrisy of the Western world, its hollow values and the civilization it boasts, claiming commitment to human rights and international law. In truth, the Western world has sacrificed us, revealing racism and double standards toward our people.” Palestinians have distinguished very clearly between those who did not support them and those who did: “We express our gratitude to all who have recognized the injustice inflicted upon us and the genocidal war in Gaza. We salute all the voices that have taken a religious and moral stand against Zionism and so-called Christian Zionism – rejecting genocide and apartheid and call for an end to arms shipments to Israel and for the prosecution of war criminals. We hear in these voices support of our hope, a sign of the Holy Spirit, and the presence of moral conscience in humanity.” In a time when the Palestinian people have suffered so greatly, and continue to endure unspeakable violence, asking throughout their tribulations, “Where is the world?”, “Where is the Church?”, and “Where is humanity?”, we must commit ourselves to honor their humanity, end their suffering, and help them rebuild their lives. To accomplish these, there is nothing more urgent than renouncing the Zionist project and reshaping the US-Israel relationship on the basis of dignity, justice, and equality.