The Unbreakable Bond



• For decades now, politicians from both the Republican and Democratic parties have gushed about the “unbreakable bond” between the United States and Israel. This bond was the calculated plan of a broad coalition of Zionist organizations active in the United States since the 1930s, when large numbers of Jewish immigrants began pouring into Palestine. The Zionist plan to colonize and permanently settle historic Palestine as a Jewish state would need a superpower patron. Therefore, they set out to establish an “unbreakable bond” in American domestic politics. Every sitting and aspiring politician knows the power of the Israel Lobby. The Lobby has intimate connections to the government of Israel, and enforces American politicians to comply with Israel’s interests through a well-funded, carefully-orchestrated system of “carrots and sticks.” Cooperate with the Lobby, vote “correctly” on Israel, and you will be rewarded with handsome campaign contributions and endorsements. Step out of line, criticize Israel, stand up for Palestinian human rights, and you will be targeted by the Lobby. They will spend millions to defeat you, unleash vicious attack ads against you, and work diligently to end your political career. Ask Andy Levin, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, and many others who have felt the wrath of the Israel Lobby. However, cracks are appearing in their edifice of power and control. They failed to unseat several members of the Squad – Summer Lee, AOC, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilan Omar – despite spending millions. Recent polls in the Michigan Senate race indicate that voters want candidates who will fight for them, and they think candidates who will not stand up to AIPAC won’t fight for them on other issues either. Accepting AIPAC funding is becoming a liability, and several candidates have made a point of refusing AIPAC money – Valerie Foushee and Deborah Ross here in North Carolina. The “unbreakable bond” in American domestic politics is not so unbreakable after all.

• The “unbreakable bond” is causing grave difficulties in international relations as well. Supporting, arming, and defending Israel in its genocidal campaign of mass death and destruction in Gaza makes us accomplices. Just as Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are indicted war criminals, American officials may also be held accountable for their part in these unspeakable atrocities. The US is now complicit in Israel’s war crimes in Lebanon, which is enduring its own Gaza. Opposing the fragile peace talks with Iran, Israel unleashed an intense barrage of airstrikes on Beirut without warning. The Israeli military struck civilian sites, flattened residential apartment buildings, and reduced entire urban neighborhoods to rubble. In two days, Israel has killed over 300 people, wounded over 1,700, and forcibly displaced over 1 million Lebanese from their homes. According to United Nations reports, Israel has violated the November 2024 “ceasefire” with Lebanon over 15,000 times.

• Moreover, Israel dragged the United States into the war with Iran. Israel clearly is not interested in ceasefires or peace treaties. With our help, they want to turn Iran into a failed state, hindering its capacity to pose any kind of deterrent threat to Israel’s plans to be a regional hegemon. Daniel Levy, longtime Israeli negotiator, clarifies that when the Israel’s speak of “Greater Israel”, they don’t just mean expanded borders. They mean expanded power and control over the entire Middle East. They mean military and economic dominance over the lives of over 300 million people, from Palestine to Iran. As long as the United States has an “unbreakable bond” with Israel, we are linked to this agenda, whether it’s in our long-term interests or not. The United States is complicit in Israel’s war crimes, and is now committing our own (bombing an Iranian girls’ school, murdering over 175 schoolgirls). Israel’s killing sprees are causing widespread economic pain. Even if it takes years for international law to impose consequences for their war crimes, the damage to the reputations of Israel and the United States across the globe is immediate and long-lasting.

• Finally, there is open discussion in the United States and in Europe about whether the “unbreakable bond” with Israel is a good idea. Hardly a new discussion for those of us who have been advocating for international law and Palestinian human rights for decades. But recently, Zionist right-wing podcasters and leading MAGA figures in the U.S. are openly criticizing Israel AND questioning the wisdom of aligning with an apartheid, genocidal state. And in Europe, a Citizens Initiative calling for the end of the European Union-Israel Association Agreement just reached 1 million signatures. The initiative spanned 10 member states, is still collecting signatures, and is aiming for 1.5 million. The petition calls on the European Commission to “completely suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement due to the genocide, occupation, and apartheid perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian population, as well as the ongoing violations of international law and human rights.” The petition demands that the European Union stop rewarding rogue-state Israel and cancel its privileged trade agreement. Thankfully, wise, peace-loving, human rights-affirming citizens are pushing their political leaders to abandon “the unbreakable bond” with Israel. It can’t happen too soon.