Pro-Israel organizations in the U.S. are privately voicing their concerns that two Democrat government officials may have meddled in Israeli politics. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), recently called on opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu to reject forming a coalition with controversial right-wing Member of Knesset, Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the Otzma Yehudit party, should he win next month’s election. With just weeks to go until elections, this was viewed as a departure from the convention of not commenting on the electoral choices of allies.
“There can be no doubt that Itamar Ben-Gvir has a troubling past and that his ascension in Israeli politics would draw attention. This is a man who has been rather strident in his views, which offend many in the West, not to mention a fair portion of Israelis for that matter,” Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said to Zenger News. However, Schanzer noted that it is not typical for the U.S. to get involved in an ally’s elections, saying that while he thinks the statements “are well-intentioned,” they “veer in that direction” of meddling.
