No Dog in This Hunt

I wanted to take note of one passage in William A. Galston’s Wall Street Journal column on Chuck Schumer’s Israel speech:

The majority leader also misreads Israeli public opinion. Like many U.S. politicians, he seems unaware of the vast changes in Israeli sentiment since the collapse of the Oslo accords in 2000. The gravamen of his speech was the familiar call for a two-state solution, which Jewish Israelis reject by a margin of about 2 to 1, even if accompanied by U.S. security guarantees and a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia. “Call me an optimist,” Mr. Schumer said in his speech. Others would be less generous.

Israeli sentiments about the war in Gaza are no less challenging for American liberals. Nearly three-quarters of Jewish Israelis favor extending military operations to Rafah, Hamas’s last stronghold, where more than a million Gazans have taken refuge. Two-thirds of Jewish Israelis polled in February opposed more humanitarian aid for Gaza “at this time,” even if delivered through organizations unrelated to Hamas or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. The U.S. should disregard this sentiment, but our leaders should try to understand why it has taken hold.

A slight majority of Jewish Israelis polled in February even favored expanding hostilities to include a northern front against Hezbollah, as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has urged. In this respect, Mr. Netanyahu has been a moderating influence.

Would we prefer that the Palestinians weren’t dominated by radical Islamists? Sure. But they are. Would we prefer that Israelis weren’t responding by becoming more militant? Sure. But that’s not what’s happening. I don’t think we should like either group very much.