Netanyahu's risky bet: Why Israel's future might depend on US election choice

Recent polls show an odd split in US presidential race preferences: while American voters cant decide between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump‚ Israeli public opinion is crystal-clear

In a mid-fall survey by Channel-12 (an Israeli TV station)‚ about two-thirds of Israelis backed Trump while only 17% supported Harris; the rest didnt pick sides. This pro-Trump stance makes Israel different from most Western nations

The strong support comes from Trumps first-term actions:

• Moving US embassy to Jerusalem
• Backing Golan Heights control
• Leaving Iran nuclear deal
• Setting-up Abraham Accords

Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump have a complex back-and-forth relationship — after a four-year silence they met at Mar-a-Lago last summer. Since then theyve had several phone-calls‚ showing both see political gain in appearing as friends

We need to finish up your war and get it done quickly

Israels current military needs are bigger than any time since 70s. US gave over $22‚7-billion in direct aid‚ sent war-ships‚ jets and set-up new missile-defense systems (which need about 100 US workers to run)

Harris remains unknown to most Israelis and they dont connect her with Joe Bidens strong support during recent conflicts. Meanwhile Trump keeps sharing mixed messages about key issues: Gaza war Hamas‚ Lebanonʼs Hezbollah and Iranʼs threats

Trumpʼs core idea of “America-first“ might not work well with Israelʼs needs. His team focuses more on China than Middle-east issues‚ and he doesnt like giving aid to allies who dont pay their way. This could make things hard for Israel which needs more defense spending soon