Democrat Rahm Emanuel, a former Chicago mayor who is expected to launch a 2028 presidential bid, has told Israel that it should no longer expect unconditional aid from the United States.His address, delivered on Wednesday to Tel Aviv University, also included pointed criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“Unconditional support has produced a prime minister who has presumed that his strategic interest would incur no political costs if he ignored America’s concerns about settlements and sparked a regional war,” Emanuel said.In light of this dynamic, Emanuel argued that the US-Israeli bond needed to be reassessed. “We need, fundamentally, a new and different approach to this alliance,” he said.Those remarks represent a leftward shift on the issue for Emanuel.A longtime member of the Democratic Party’s establishment, Emanuel has played a key role in shaping US-Israeli relations. He worked as an adviser to former US President Bill Clinton during Israel-Palestine peace negotiations in the 1990s, and he was also involved in Middle East policy as a chief of staff to former President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2010.But since that time, public opinion polls have shown Democratic voters to be increasingly critical of Israel, particularly after the launch of its genocidal war in Gaza, which has killed at least 73,000 Palestinians since 2023.The 66-year-old Emanuel pointed to those US polls, as well as tan …
