Unimaginable

There are things that were unimaginable before today, for those who have followed American politics for more than half a century. No one imagined that a candidate for the American presidency would boycott a session of Congress whose guest speaker was the Prime Minister of Israel. Whoever he was, no one in America imagined that 80 members of Congress would also boycott the session. Nor 18. Nor 8.

The most significant political, media and social transformation in the history of US-Israeli relations since Harry Truman announced his recognition of the State of Israel, 16 minutes after its declaration, is what happened in Washington on Wednesday: inside and outside Congress, where demonstrators came from all over the country to protest Netanyahu’s visit and speech. Before the Gaza war, an American, especially a politician, would not have dared to register his name in the request for permission to demonstrate.

There is no doubt that the political scene in Washington scares the pillars of the Jewish movement in the world more than anything that has happened so far: America's newspapers, politicians, media, and some of its most prominent politicians are defying blind obedience to Israel's positions, decisions, and policies. When expressions like "setback," "defeat," and "the lobby" were mentioned in Washington, it was taken for granted that the Arabs were meant. Washington turned against AIPAC. Netanyahu came to announce the "promise of victory," not to declare himself. And after about a year, he is still asking for help in the war on Hamas.

Netanyahu himself carried the voice of the Arabs to the capital, which had refused to even listen to this voice, or acknowledge its existence. At the beginning of the Gaza war, Joe Biden went to Tel Aviv and returned in one day, declaring unprecedented support, and now his presidential candidate and his vice president refuse to be among the listeners of the man who has become a source of suspicion, controversy and fear. In other words, he has become a burden on the most fundamentally intertwined relationship between the world’s largest countries and their first ally.

It is enough to compare the atmosphere in Washington during Netanyahu’s three previous visits to this one to understand the extent of the damage that has been done. It was not even necessary to wait for his arrival. In recent weeks, the American press has been covering the news of Gaza like any other press, unable to ignore the facts… and conscience.

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There is no doubt for a moment that the political scene in Washington frightens the pillars of the Jewish movement in the world more than anything that has happened so far.