Rahm Emanuel calls for tougher U.S. stance on Israel alliance

Rahm Emanuel used his Face the Nation appearance Sunday to honor Lindsey Graham while pressing a harder U.S. line on Israel, saying the relationship was "at a crossroads" and "cannot stand or survive as it has been." CBS said the July 12 broadcast also featured Sen. Tim Scott, Rep. Mike Turner, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie and Israeli Ambassador Michael Leiter, and it paid tribute to Graham after his sudden death.

The former White House chief of staff, former Chicago mayor and former U.S. ambassador to Japan had returned from overseas after a July 8 speech at Tel Aviv University that called for ending unconditional U.S. support for Israel. In that speech, Emanuel also urged sanctions on Israelis who attack Palestinian civilians and property, along with companies and banks backing settlements, a sharper posture than many Democrats have been willing to say out loud.

That shift lands in the middle of a changing Democratic mood. The Sheffield Press cited AP-NORC polling showing 58% of Democrats said the United States was too supportive of Israel, up from 45% in January 2024. The same poll found roughly half of Democrats said they believed Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians during the war with Hamas, a measure of how far public anger has moved inside the party.

Emanuel also used the broadcast to show he has not abandoned the bipartisan instincts that made him a power broker in Washington. Asked about Graham, he called him "a patriot" and said the two worked together on debate rules for the 2008 Obama-McCain campaign, a national service bill that passed in spring 2009 and doubled the size of AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, and an unsuccessful effort during the Obama transition to close Guantanamo. That final push involved Carl Levin, the attorney general and a dispute over civilian versus military court.

The result was less a routine interview than a public test case. Emanuel sounded ready to challenge the old reflex of unconditional backing for Israel while still speaking the language of security, bipartisanship and military seriousness. For a Democrat with long ties to the Obama era and a reputation for hard political combat, the message suggested he is trying to shape the party's next argument on Israel rather than follow it.