The US vice president, JD Vance, dodged declaring his support for the reelection of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one day after President Donald Trump endorsed the Israeli leader amid controversy.
“The president has the most influential support in American political history or international,” said Vance during an interview with journalist Mark Halperin.
“I support American candidates, and that’s what I’m focusing on in the midterm elections,” Vance said as he traveled to campaign for the North Carolina Republican Senate candidate, Michael Whatley. “Therefore, I am not getting involved in the Israeli elections.”
Vance has previously campaigned for a foreign leader: Hungary’s then-prime minister Viktor Orbán, in the spring, before the right-wing leader’s party lost the country’s parliamentary elections.
Vance’s deference to Trump regarding Netanyahu comes at an extremely delicate moment for American Jews and for the US-Israel alliance. Worries about antisemitism have risen across the political spectrum on the eve of the midterm elections.
The Republicans have been striving to portray Democrats, especially Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, as hostile to Jews and to Israel, while dealing with their own internal divisions.
Vance faced skepticism from Jewish Republicans regarding his commitment to American Jews and to the US-Israel alliance. Last month, Vance spoke privately in Las Vegas to the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), a Republican group that advocates a strong relationship between the US and Israel and the fight against antisemitism.
Vance made a positive impression on the RJC, though he did not go so far as to repudiate the host Tucker Carlson. Vance has faced questions about his relationship with Carlson, the former Fox News host who has faced criticism for interviewing antisemitic Nick Fuentes on his podcast.
In June, Vance harshly criticized members of the Israeli government for opposing Trump’s efforts to end the war with Iran. In July, Vance said that sectors of the Israeli government had tried to influence American public opinion to derail the negotiations.
“There are some people within their system that we know, without a shadow of a doubt, are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going indefinitely,” Vance said on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
