Trump moves exacerbate growing US partisan divide over Israel
With US public opinion on Israel increasingly divided along partisan lines, Democrats are feeling emboldened to take a stand against President Donald Trump — and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
US Vice President Mike Pence’s address to the Knesset on Monday was greeted by glowing praise from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition — and a bitter protest from Arab Israeli lawmakers.
With Pence promising to relocate the US Embassy by next year following President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, 13 Knesset members unfurled a banner that read “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine.” As police ushered them out, Netanyahu led his allies in thunderous applause.
“It is deeply humbling for me to stand before this vibrant democracy," Pence said with a smile.
The disruption echoed Netanyahu’s own address to the US Congress three years ago, when Republican leaders invited the Israeli leader to publicly make the case against President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. The speech was boycotted by 58 Democrats outraged over the unprecedented diplomatic affront to the nation’s first African-American president, undermining bipartisan support for Netanyahu and the Israeli right more generally.
