Lapid: Netanyahu 'toxic' to US lawmakers who backed Israel

Mounting congressional opposition

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Wednesday warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become "toxic" to American legislators who historically supported the Jewish state, citing a sharp rise in congressional willingness to restrict arms shipments to Israel. Writing on the social media platform X following Democratic victories in Tuesday's US midterm elections, Lapid said Israel was losing support among lawmakers who still viewed it as a strategic partner but opposed Netanyahu and his government's policies. Lapid put the number of lawmakers he described as firmly opposed to Israel at around 25 of the 435 members of the House of Representatives and less than 10% of the Senate.

He said the bigger problem for Israel was the growing willingness of senators outside that group to vote for arms restrictions, noting that 11 senators had voted to restrict arms shipments two years earlier. He put the figure at 27 a year ago and 40 in April. "They oppose settler violence, they oppose a government they don’t understand, and above all, they oppose Netanyahu," he wrote. "To them, anything associated with him is toxic."

Break with bipartisan tradition

Lapid said Netanyahu had broken with Israel's longstanding approach of working with both US parties when he addressed Congress in 2015 to oppose then-President Barack Obama's policy on Iran. He urged Israel's next government to meet with lawmakers from both parties during its first visit to Washington.

Democrats won majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday's US midterm elections. The result ends Republican control of Congress and gives Democrats greater sway over legislation and congressional oversight.