From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Former PM Bennett says Israel’s standing in US ‘has never been so bad,’ Netanyahu turned it into ‘leper state’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Israel’s status in the United States “has never been so bad,” former premier Naftali Bennett warns, blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for turning it into “a leper state.”
In a lengthy tweet following a tour of the US, Bennett argues that Israel has lost Democratic support and that “the Republican Party, whose support for Israel could once be counted on, is also being lost.”
“Although some of the Trump administration still sympathizes with Israel, primarily thanks to President Trump himself, many on the right wing in the US, including the MAGA movement, are distancing themselves from Israel,” Bennett writes, insisting that even Israel’s friends “are having a hard time defending” it.
“The ‘starvation’ campaign in Gaza has grown to enormous proportions, and in fact, for most of the American public and various influencers, it is almost a fact — Israel is seen more as a liability and a burden on the US and Americans,” he continues, adding that rising antisemitism has led many on both the radical left and right to blame Jews for America’s troubles.
In response, the Israeli government is doing “terrible damage” and “still does not understand the magnitude of the disaster,” he says, blaming the Prime Minister’s Office for failing at public diplomacy and noting that those responsible for such efforts had “received a salary from Qatar.”
Two of Netanyahu’s aides are suspected of having committed multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen, all while working for the prime minister.
Moreover, he says, government ministers like Amichai Eliyahu, Amichai Chikli, and Bezalel Smotrich “babble on and cause us unimaginable damage with devastating quotes that will haunt our soldiers in line for passports in countries around the world.”
“Do you really think that what you say in interviews in Israel isn’t being heard abroad?! Don’t you care that you will lead to the prosecution of our soldiers?” he asks. “If Netanyahu’s propaganda people were working against Israel’s external enemies with a tenth of the talent, speed, and dedication with which they operate the propaganda machine against their political opponents inside Israel, our situation would be incredible.”
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