Lapid says US ‘not lost,’ urges tour to restore bipartisan support; NYC’s Lander rebuffs him

One day after the US midterm elections elevated a group of anti-Israel politicians to public office, Yair Lapid wrote that America is not “lost” and suggested a plan to shore up declining bipartisan support for the country — only to be rebuffed by a newly elected American progressive Israel critic.

The opposition leader’s Hebrew post on X on Wednesday urged the incoming Israeli government to focus on isolating hardline anti-Israel Democrats while fixing frayed ties with moderates in the party, which now controls both houses of Congress.

Specifically, he proposed that Israeli leaders embark on a listening tour of the US, speaking not just with politicians but with leaders from US Jewry and other religious and ethnic communities across the ideological spectrum.

And Lapid, who is No. 2 in the opposition B’Yachad party, once again advocated ousting the current right-wing Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, who he said had become “toxic.” Most Democratic officials, he asserted, do not oppose the Jewish state but are appalled at the behavior of the outgoing coalition, which lost its majority in last week’s election.

Hours after he published the post, however, New York Congressman-elect Brad Lander, who identifies as a Zionist but has accused Israel of genocide, rejected Lapid’s remarks, saying that what US voters seek is Israeli adherence to “international law and human rights,” not “barnstorming.”

That, in turn, sparked responses from commentators as well as another post from Lapid, this time in English, saying, “We know some people will hate us no matter what. And some people will be against us no matter what.”

This week’s Democratic sweep of the midterms saw a crop of new US lawmakers who accuse Israel of genocide — and, in some cases, have spoken out against Jewish statehood — win races in the House and Senate. Their victories come as public opinion of Israel has fallen precipitously in the US, especially among Democrats, and as voters expressed anger about the Iran war, which the US and Israel launched jointly in February.

The frustration in the country that has long been Israel’s closest and most powerful ally appears to be bipartisan. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced a halt to military aid for Israel at the end of the year. On Wednesday, US Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the Republicans’ election losses and said voters were seeking a “change” to the US relationship with Israel.

Against that backdrop, Lapid urged Israelis not to overstate the depth of their predicament.

“There’s an urgent need for leadership and a plan of action instead of politicians’ panic,” Lapid wrote. “It’s easiest to scream, ‘America is lost,’ because if it’s lost, there’s no need to work. But that’s not true. Not at all.”

He acknowledged that “the anti-Israel nucleus in the House of Representatives has grown,” but noted that the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the latter of whom is Jewish, are both pro-Israel.

“The real problem isn’t the extremists,” Lapid said, adding that even though Democrats increasingly voted against weapons shipments to Israel, most of their lawmakers “don’t hate us.”

He then turned to the outgoing Israeli coalition.

“These people aren’t against Israel,” he argued. “They are against extremist ministers who say crazy things. They are against settler violence; they are against a government that they don’t understand; they are mostly against Netanyahu — as far as they are concerned, everything connected to him is toxic.”

He urged returning to the previous norm in which “Israel doesn’t pick sides in America. We work with everyone.”

Lapid said that the first delegation of Israeli leaders from the next government must visit not only the White House, but also Congress, “with both parties.”

“Not only to make speeches, but also to listen, to speak, to take criticism, to explain facts, to rebuild trust.”

Beyond that, a delegation should tour America, meeting governors and local officials, media figures and religious and community leaders, “to reach the America beyond the politics,” he wrote.

In particular, he wrote, Jewish communities are “hungry” to meet with Israeli leaders and hear from them.

Lapid called for reaching out to “Hispanics, to Afro-American churches, to young evangelists, who abandoned us.”

“America is not lost. It is waiting for somebody to talk to it again,” he concluded.

Lander: ‘You’re not listening’ to voters

Lander, who is Jewish and will represent parts of New York City beginning next year, describes himself as a “liberal Zionist.” He often accuses Israel of “genocide” and was briefly detained by Israeli forces last month while picking olives with a pro-Palestinian activist group in the West Bank.

Posting a response to Lapid, he said that he is someone who “cares about Israel,” adding, “You’re not listening to what American voters — Jewish and non-Jewish — are saying. We aren’t starving for a barnstorming tour. We’re hungry to see respect for international law and human rights.”

Dan Senor, a prominent commentator on Israel, wrote that while Lapid was correctly identifying the “blind spots” of Israeli leaders about changes in US politics, the opposition politician was displaying his own gaps in understanding.

“They genuinely believe that this kind of outreach is what the ascendant American progressive forces want to hear. And, of course — on cue — Lander shuts him down,” Senor wrote. “Everything about this exchange is depressing.”

Lapid responded to Senor, writing, “There will be those who want to genuinely engage to rebuild and repair the relationship between our two countries, and there will be those who relentlessly push an anti-Israel agenda no matter what.”

He added, “I’m interested in those who are willing to listen and engage.”