Punishing Israel is a symbol for political frustration

From Palestine to the U.S., the politics of Israel have increasingly become a language through which political actors process defeat and project frustration.

This week, Thomas Massie, the Republican congressman of Kentucky’s 4th district, has become the latest in a long line of actors whose political defeats have been followed by intensified efforts against Israel.

In May of this year, Massie lost his renomination bid to Ed Gallrein, a former U.S. Navy Seal who had the backing of President Donald Trump as well as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent $37 million supporting Gallrein. Massie candidly labeled AIPAC “very persuasive.”

Since his loss, Massie has targeted AIPAC, demanding foreign lobbying groups be labeled as foreign agents (which would restrict their ability to donate to candidates), and this week sent a bill to the House that would cut off $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel in 2027.

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Massie was the only Republican supporting his bill. If anything, the legislation provided a platform for Democrats who have hardened their position against Israel in light of its war in Gaza, where U.S.-made weapons have aided in leveling cities and the deaths of tens of thousands of Gazans in what many are calling a genocide—an accusation which Israel denies.

Thanks to Massie’s bill, the split in the Democratic party over support for Israel is palpable. The fracture itself took shape during the 2024 presidential election, when Democratic candidate Kamala Harris lost to Trump.

Many in the Democratic party blamed progressive Democrats for that defeat after they rejected Harris over her support for Israel during what they see as the Gaza genocide.

Either way, the Israel issue became a flashpoint dividing the Democratic party. A recent poll showed that 58% of Democrats believe that Washington supports Jerusalem too much, and favorability of the country has plummeted in recent years.

Ironically, then, punishing Harris for rejecting punishment of Israel over war efforts in Gaza is also a signifier for political frustration. I.e., progressives are punishing Israel through a proxy—moderate Democrats.

In a sense, the crux of the current issue was Israel’s response to October 7, 2023, when Hamas decided fatefully to invade Israel on the morning of the Jewish festival of Simchat Torah, killing over 1,000 Israelis.

Many analysts suggested that Hamas launched the attack to derail warming relations between Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel because the issue of Palestine was frustratingly being sidelined.

While failing to torpedo the existing Abraham Accords, the attack did stall further ties between Israel and Arab states. While Hamas achieved that goal by channeling its frustration into an attack against Israel, the question remains at what cost to itself?

Gaza lies in ruins. Its strongest regional ally, Hezbollah, has been pushed north of the Litani River and is being chased by the IDF through Beirut’s southern suburbs. Hamas’ most powerful ally, Iran, has faced brutal attacks by the U.S. and Israel that have killed dozens of its senior political and military leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei. The Islamic Republic is now tied up in a standoff with the U.S. over the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, Hamas has announced it will dissolve its government, which has been in power since the last Palestinian elections in 2006. Viable Palestinian statehood, meanwhile, has failed to advance in any substantial measure.

What Massie’s show vote this week reveals, then, much like Hamas’ October 7 onslaught, is that supporting Palestinian self-determination and targeting Israel as a vehicle for political frustration are different political acts. One seeks liberation. The other signals political grief.