Senior Israeli officials have been engaged in strenuous efforts in the past two weeks to prevent a severe crisis with the United States in the wake of harsh criticism by many senior US officials on Israel’s stance on the war in Ukraine. According to a Yisrael Hayom report on Sunday, some of the harsh criticism of Israel is coming – for the first time – from its most ardent supporters in the Republican Party, including Senator Lindsay Graham, a longtime supporter of Israel and the only one who has publicly criticized Jerusalem’s almost neutral stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Other politicians have expressed strong objections in closed talks to Israel’s approach – its refusal to join the sanctions on Russia and what they consider its conciliatory approach to Russian “aggression,” including Senator Ted Cruz, one of Israel’s greatest supporters on Capitol Hill, and Republican minority leader Kevin McArthy. The criticism of Israel was expressed in closed conversations between senators and Congress members and advisers as well as with pro-Israel figures on Capitol Hill. In efforts to mollify the situation and prevent the criticism from being voiced publicly, a number of talks were held last week between Israeli officials and senior members of Congress. Israeli officials explained the considerations that led Israel to adopt a lukewarm position toward Russia in comparison to other Western countries, stressing the importance of Israel’s freedom of action in Syria, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and the fact that Israel has no laws governing sanctions. A senior adviser on Capitol Hill told Yisrael Hayom that the Israeli explanations were effective – leading to a deeper understanding of Israel’s policy and preventing public condemnation of Israel. However, he added that there are still significant gaps between the way the war is perceived in the US versus the way it is perceived in Israel. A pro-Israel congressional adviser told Yisrael Hayom that in the United States “the feeling is that a third world war has broken out, that the worst has happened, and that Putin is considered almost a Nazi.” “This is the prevalent view in the US on both sides of the political divide,” he said. “In such an unprecedented emergency situation, both parties expected Israel, as well as other US allies, to take an unequivocal stance towards Russia. Those senior officials don’t understand how it is possible that Israel is not unequivocally adopting the Western policy, including participating in sanctions.” Another US source said that Israel’s position is now understood by Congress members and therefore there has been no public criticism of Israel. Nevertheless, he added that “although they understand, they don’t understand – their gut feeling is still one of unease at Israel’s approach at such a dramatic moment in history.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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