US Vice President JD Vance on Monday declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election, a day after President Donald Trump announcedhis support for the Israeli premier, who is facing mounting pressure.
اضافة اعلان
During an interview with journalist Mark Halperin, Vance said: “The president has the strongest endorsement in American or international political history.”
Vance made the remarks while travelling to attend a campaign event in support of Michael Whatley, the Republican candidate for the US Senate in North Carolina. He added: “I support American candidates, and that is what I am focused on in the midterm elections. So, I will not get involved in the Israeli elections.”
Vance has previously campaigned in support of a foreign leader. Last spring, he backed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose right-wing party subsequently lost Hungary’s parliamentary elections.
According to the Associated Press, Vance’s reluctance to take an independent position on Netanyahu, separate from Trump’s, comes at a particularly sensitive time for Jewish Americans and the US-Israel alliance.
Concerns about antisemitism have intensified across the political spectrum as the midterm elections approach.
Republicans have sought to portray Democrats, particularly Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, as hostile to Jews and Israel, while facing internal divisions within their own ranks.
Vance has also faced scrutiny from Jewish Republicans over his commitment to Jewish Americans and the US-Israel alliance.
Source: Al-Ghad.
