Vice President JD Vance got his excuses in early yesterday for the Republican failure in the midterm elections.

With what might look to many to be a too obvious attempt to put space between himself and Trump, with at least a significant eye upon the 2028 presidential nomination, he posted on Twitter that he had asked a pollster why it was that Republican voters had turned out for the midterm elections, but not necessarily voted for the Republicans.

He was told that the four reasons given, covering almost all the demands that those who had abandoned the party had made, were as follows:

1. End the war
2. Focus on cost of living/inflation
3. Put America First
4. Change our relationship to Israel

The first and second were the issues that the Democrats played upon. There were no surprises in those two.

The third reflected the MAGA demand. However, in many ways, this overlaps with the first two, and especially the demand to end the war. Many Americans do seem to want to continue isolationism.

The response that I found most interesting was that the USA should change its relationship with Israel.

That this is now being said is, in itself, really quite surprising. The fact that what was once virtually unsayable in the USA can now be highlighted as a major issue of concern indicates just how far the cause of Israel has been damaged by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Those making this demand are not antisemitic. They are, instead, opposed to the alignment of the USA with a government that is clearly pursuing genocide in Gaza and actions both contrary to international law and morally offensive in the West Bank and elsewhere.

The recognition that this government, which remains in office at present, has crossed a boundary is clear and real, and unprecedented in US politics and in politics around the world.

The influence of Israel's actions, and its deliberate promotion of its goals in the international political arena, not least by seeking to influence political debate within and between political parties in a great many countries, including the UK, is being noticed. There is, as a result, now a serious backlash against the toxicity that this is introducing into the domestic politics of many countries and international relations.

This might most clearly be seen in the USA, because of the impact there of Trump's war in association with Netanyahu's Israeli government on Iran, but it is little less significant inside the UK, where Israeli involvement has undoubtedly influenced the course of UK politics over the last decade or so in a way that should never have been acceptable.

What is interesting about the comments relayed to Vance is that they show awareness amongst people outside the political bubble that this is the case. To put it plainly, people are now aware of the toxic nature of the current Israeli government, the disruptive influence of too many Zionists, and the resulting negative impact upon the domestic agendas of too many other countries.

The influence of this on the election in the USA was apparent until the last moment. Representative Haley Stevens' effective defection to the Republicans in Michigan was, after all, inspired by her dislike of now Senator Abdul El-Sayed's position on Israel. He won anyway. She will, no doubt, now be in the political wilderness. Americans, however, are now saying ‘enough'.

They are right to do so. Netanyahu's policies have made Israel potentially the most toxic state in the world because of its deliberate interference in elections in foreign countries and its very clear support for far-right political agendas that it hopes will support its own utterly inappropriate expansionist policies outside the agreed borders of Israel.

Amongst the many influences from which politics must be cleansed, including the power of corporate money, the rise of toxic populism on the far right, and the undemocratic nature of voting systems in both the UK and USA, deliberate interference from this Israeli government has to be removed from our political scene so that people might make decisions free from its influence.

The reality is that this can now be said, and it is not antisemitic to do so. After all, it is not clear that the people of Israel themselves now back Netanyahu.

We need better politics. This is one way in which we must get it.

And I say that whilst simultaneously making it very clear that we must protect the rights of all Jews in our society, as we should those of all ethnic and religious groups.

That is what a courageous state, based on a true concept of democracy, would do.

I have a very strong feeling that many people would agree.

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