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Former Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (AMAN) chief Tamir Hayman warned that public support for Israel in the United States is gradually declining while support for Palestine is increasing, saying Washington's support for Israel could weaken.
Speaking at the National Security Conference organized by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper and the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Hayman said: "The U.S. support network is melting."
Hayman said Israel has long had a security network based on strong public support in the United States.
He said that support resonated with both Republican and Democratic Party bases and had prevented Israel from becoming an isolated country subjected to sanctions.
"We are almost walking on a stretched rope. While we are greatly expanding the scope of the campaign, this security network is also melting," Hayman said.
Hayman said that after Israel launched its attacks on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, it carried out operations against Lebanon and Iran, as well as airstrikes on Yemen and Qatar, while conducting ground operations in Syria almost every day.
He said polling data on Americans under the age of 50 was "extremely worrying."
Hayman said 86% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans in that age group hold negative views of Israel, while more than half of evangelical Christians also have a negative view of the country.
He said the trend in public opinion would eventually be reflected in political decision-making in Washington.
"These are the future members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. While support among them for Israel is declining, support for the Palestinian narrative is increasing significantly," Hayman said.
He said the picture becomes even more negative among Americans under 30 or 25.
"We are losing a segment of American society," he said.
Hayman said Israel's position in the U.S. military remains strong and that a generation of military leaders admires Israel's capabilities, but he warned that political support is far more unstable.
Hayman said it was dangerous for Israel to tie the future of relations with the United States to a single person in the White House.
"Many people in Israel are tying the future of relations with the U.S. to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has not even won the presidential primaries. This is an extremely dangerous gamble," he said.
Hayman said Israel's predicament is partly linked to broader cultural and political turmoil in the United States, noting what he described as serious problems in parts of the far left, including a loss of moral and ideological orientation.
He claimed that well-funded campaigns, particularly through Qatar's financing of media platforms and universities, link the future of the United States to the Palestinian issue.
Hayman said Israel is also facing a growing challenge on the far right in the United States, arguing that hostility toward foreigners and immigrants and a desire to return to white Protestant nationalism are increasing as part of the fight against the far left.
He claimed that some segments of the far right in the United States see Jews as a hostile force and openly describe Israel as an enemy of the United States.
"There is hatred and antisemitism toward Jews in some right-wing circles, and opposition to Israel and Zionism in some left-wing circles. This situation is increasing among young people," he claimed.
Hayman said this environment also puts young pro-Israel American Jews at risk.
"We see that Jewish parents' children are hesitant to say, 'I am a Zionist.' Because Zionism is now seen in the U.S. as synonymous with fascism," he said.
The INSS, headed by Hayman, is a research institution operating in the fields of security and foreign policy in Israel.
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