I Am Told Every Day That I Am Anti-American If I Am Not Pro-Israel

Ilhan Omar is leading a revolt over Israel within the democratic party. Is it the dawn of a new era in American foreign policy—or the end of a political alliance? It may be both.

- Jonathan Broder

In late March, some 18,000 people crowded into a grand ballroom the size of a commercial airline hangar in downtown Washington, D.C., for the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel lobby in the United States. Behind the stage were a dozen Jumbotrons, which, in between the speeches, broadcast short propaganda films about daily life in Israel. In some, Israelis residing close to the Gaza Strip described their experiences of living under Hamas rocket fire. Others showed Israeli agricultural fields being consumed by huge fires, caused by Hamas-launched kites carrying burning, gasoline-soaked rags. Still, others showed elaborate Hamas tunnels that Israeli security forces had discovered. Whenever there was downtime, Israeli songs blared through the sound system. The effect was total immersion—sight, sound, and speeches—in a pro-Israel experience.

The event is traditionally a rare bipartisan affair, with both Republican and Democratic leaders heaping praise on the U.S.Israel alliance and each pronouncement of the two countries’ strategic and cultural affinity prompting wild applause.