Rahm Emanuel, the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama and a potential 2028 presidential hopeful, is making waves after calling for an end to U.S. taxpayer funding of military aid for Israel.
While Emanuel isn’t alone in his posture, he stands out because he positioned himself as a moderate in the party, leading to questions of whether other future candidates might follow on an issue that was once viewed as a popular stance among the party's far-left flank.
Emanuel is also a longtime supporter of Israeli defense efforts, having been in the White House when the United States, under Obama, directed more than $1.3 billion into Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.
But Emanuel, also a former Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan, said U.S. taxpayers should no longer be footing the bill.
Emanuel expressed the sentiment in a Friday appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher," to audience applause.
“No more U.S. military … financial assistance by the taxpayers for Israel. You’re a country, like all other allies of ours, Japan, South Korea, the Brits, the Germans. You’re going to pay full price. You can buy what you want, but you have to abide by the laws,” he said. “No more U.S. taxpayer support. It’s not where Israel was 20 years ago — and I was in the room when we — President Obama … largest assistance was under President Obama. We did the funding for the Iron Dome. But here, the days of taxpayers subsidizing Israel militarily, that’s over.”
Earlier this month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., announced she would no longer support U.S. aid to Israel, even to pay for defense.
“Consistent with my voting record to date, I will not support Congress sending more taxpayer dollars and military aid to a government that consistently ignores international law and U.S. law,” she said in a statement.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., quickly announced the same. Both are also viewed as potential contenders for a 2028 White House run.
“Iron Dome is important to save civilian lives. Israel should have it, and they can pay for it themselves with their $45 billion budget. The US taxpayer should not be subsidizing them,” Khanna said in a text to NBC News earlier this month.
The Democrats’ intensifying moves against U.S. taxpayer military support for Israel come as Israel is losing support among Americans after the prolonged war with Gaza.
An NBC News poll last month found a notable shift, with more registered voters viewing Israel negatively than positively; the trend was especially pronounced among independents and Democrats. Trump’s war with Iran, launched in partnership with Israel, has also proven to be unpopular among Americans.
A schism is also growing with the Democratic party over its support for the pro-Israel group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a longtime major political contributor to both parties. A proposed resolution at a recent Democratic National Committee meeting in New Orleans sought to denounce AIPAC. But it was deferred to a working group, prompting anger among some members, with one protester disrupting a meeting to shout at DNC chair Ken Martin: “How many kids have you killed? F--- f---ing Israel!”
A spokesperson for AIPAC said there was a strategic importance to the United States to continue supporting Israel, including through support for the Iron Dome.
“It’s critical that the United States uphold and fully implement President Obama’s ten‑year commitment of security assistance to Israel, including Iron Dome," AIPAC spokeswoman Deryn Sousa said. "This package advances America’s interests and helps our ally stop terrorists from killing civilians with missiles."
Sousa added: “Aid to Israel is not a handout; it is a strategic investment. It strengthens a key democratic ally on the front line against shared threats and delivers strong returns for America’s security, interests, and economy at home.”
Some Jewish Democrats are also expressing increasing concern that there may not be a place for them in the party, citing growing anti-Israel sentiment in the wake of the Gaza war as well as concerns from the Jewish community that Democrats aren't doing enough to combat a rise in anti-semitism.
Emanuel, a practicing Jew, has had long held a contentious relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who once referred to him as a "self-hating Jew."
Since December, Emanuel in interviews, inched toward his position on ending U.S.-funded military aid for Israel. In December, he told a podcaster that Israel was in a far more secure place than it had been in decades and that the U.S. should end special U.S. defense funding for Israel.
Earlier this month, he told Semafor: "They’ll no longer get U.S. taxpayer support. They’ll get the same restrictions like any other country that buys any of our weapons. There’ll be a country among countries,” earlier this month, adding that he’d have to “think through” Iron Dome support.
“Look, nobody else has the Iron Dome. There’s a lot of other countries that want it! Now, what you can say about Iron Dome is that it was jointly developed, so that’s something we have to think through," he went on. "But what I’m saying is, you won’t get taxpayer support anymore. You’re going to pay full price. You don’t have special status.”
Emanuel’s comments did little to persuade some on the far-left flank, who said they looked at his remarks with deep skepticism.
"Based on his record over the last few decades, there’s no reason to take Emanuel’s new position on Israel seriously other than as an effort to pander to an outlook for human rights that he has never supported before," said Norman Solomon, executive director of RootsAction, a liberal grassroots group. "Meanwhile, Emanuel’s shift is a big straw in the political wind, blowing toward rejection of Israel because the vast majority of Democratic voters now find Israel’s deadly policies to be morally repugnant."
