When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses world leaders at the United Nations on Friday, it will be at the helm of a country that is increasingly being treated as a pariah, even by some of its longtime allies.
are outraged by Israel’s intensifying offensive in the Gaza Strip and . The European Union . Democratic voters in the United States , and small cracks are showing in Republican support. The prospect of is growing, and Israeli tourists have in some countries.
Even Netanyahu’s flight to New York on Thursday was fraught. An unplanned landing in Europe could have exposed him to arrest on charges of filed by the International Criminal Court, which he denies. The Haaretz news site reported that the flight took a longer, alternate path to avoid some European airspace. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, confirmed the report.
Netanyahu still seems to have the unwavering support of President Donald Trump, and the U.S. to shield Israel from censure. But as puts Trump’s hoped-for ceasefire further out of reach, and as some on the right express outrage, that too could change.
鈥淭he concern is that that there鈥檚 a tipping point out there,鈥 said Michael Oren, a historian and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not a pariah state yet, but we could be.鈥
Global censure
Last month, 28 Western-aligned countries that had rallied around Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack called on it to end its offensive, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. They also criticized Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid, which .
Ten countries, including Britain, France, Canada and Australia 鈥 recognized Palestinian statehood this week, hoping to revive the long-moribund peace process, a move that the U.S. and Israel have vehemently rejected. Germany, one of Israel鈥檚 closest allies, has not joined the calls for a ceasefire or the push for Palestinian statehood, but has .
Several Arab states, including some with longstanding relations with Israel, have accused it of committing genocide in Gaza, , U.N. experts and some . The U.N’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, is weighing genocide allegations raised by South Africa that Israel vehemently denies.
Netanyahu acknowledged the country’s isolation in a speech last week, saying Israel might have to become a self-sufficient, militarized 鈥淪uper Sparta.鈥 He backtracked the next day after the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange took a dive.
鈥淭his is a bitter fact that has begun to spread like a bushfire beyond the sphere of diplomatic relations,鈥 Itamar Eichner wrote in Israel’s daily Yediot Ahronot. 鈥淚srael is already becoming an ostracized country.鈥
Trump stands firm
Trump has stood by Israel through it all, applying no public pressure after he had helped broker earlier this year; or when it cut Gaza off from food and medicine for several weeks, or when it invaded Gaza City earlier this month.
Trump aired his displeasure after derailed negotiations aimed at a ceasefire and hostage release. But there was no daylight seen between the two allies when Secretary of State Marco Rubio .
The administration has meanwhile , cracked down on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, shielded Israel from U.N. calls for a ceasefire and 鈥 continuing the Biden administration’s massive military support.
Public opinion is shifting
U.S. public opinion polls over the past year raise doubt over how long such support will last.
say Israel’s military response in Gaza has 鈥済one too far,鈥 according to a survey from . That鈥檚 up from November 2023, shortly after the start of the war, when 40% said it had.
A recent poll by the University of Maryland found that sympathize more with the Palestinians, compared to just 6% who sympathize more with Israel. The survey of 1,514 Americans was carried out July 29-Aug. 7 and had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
The same poll found , with younger people showing far less support for Israel. While 52% of Republicans aged 35 and older said Israel’s actions in Gaza were justified under the right to self-defense, just 22% of Republicans 18 to 34 agreed.
Evangelical Christian Republicans, a bulwark of support for Israel, showed a smaller but significant divide, with 59% of older respondents and 36% of younger respondents saying Israel’s actions were justified.
鈥淭his is unprecedented, and I say that as someone who鈥檚 been doing research on this issue for decades,鈥 said Shibley Telhami, the professor who authored the survey.
He said the polls indicate a 鈥減aradigmatic shift鈥 is underway, comparable to the souring toward foreign intervention after the wars in Vietnam and Iraq.
鈥淲e have a Gaza generation, and I think this Gaza generation doesn鈥檛 trust Israel, sees Israel as a source of a problem, sees what鈥檚 happening in Gaza largely to be genocide. And I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 likely to change once the war ends,鈥 he said.
Israel blames antisemitism and Hamas
There’s no indication that any of this has chastened Israeli leaders. Netanyahu says Israel is waging a lawful war of self-defense in response to the Oct. 7 attack, chalking up the criticism to antisemitism and Hamas propaganda.
Last month, Israel that could split the occupied West Bank in half and that its Western allies 鈥 including past U.S. administrations 鈥 had long opposed. Netanyahu has hinted he might annex parts of the territory in response to Western countries recognizing a Palestinian state.
鈥淲hen the Western world is condemning us, our reaction is not to give in, but to dig our heels in deeper,鈥 said Oren, the former ambassador. 鈥淭here are some things that Israel just cannot do or will not do in order to ameliorate its international standing: For example, creating a Palestinian state which would fall to Hamas within 24 hours.”
Israel’s increasingly frustrated allies warn of the opposite 鈥 that if it continues to rule over millions of Palestinians who are denied basic rights, it will have to choose between or a binational state in which Jews may not be a majority.
鈥淭he approach of your government, some ministers especially, is to destroy the possibility of a two-state solution,鈥 French President Emmanuel Macron said last week in an interview with an Israeli TV network. 鈥淚t’s the last minute,鈥 he said, before such a solution becomes 鈥渢otally impossible.鈥
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