The National Interest - Can Gadi Eisenkot Reset the US-Israel Relationship? - November 11, 2026 - By: Joe Zacks

 The National Interest 

Can Gadi Eisenkot Reset the US-Israel Relationship?

November 11, 2026

By: Joe Zacks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tied Israel and its interests to US partisan politics. Eisenkot has the chance to undo that mistake.

The world has seen two dynamic displays of electoral democracy in recent weeks. 

First, the Israeli public turned out in unprecedented numbers to demonstrate its discontent with the status quo, although the results did not determine a clear winner. 

Second, the US electorate demanded a mid-term shift in party control of Congress and in the country’s governance. Sadly, in the United States, anti-Israel sentiment is at an all-time high, and according to polling data, it is highest within the ranks of the Democratic Party, which was the resounding victor in last week’s elections. 

Israel’s Gadi Eisenkot is now officially charged with forming a coalition government. If he succeeds, he must prioritize resetting Israel’s relations with both US political parties to regain the support of the US public.

Foundationally and fundamentally, Israel is a democracy, and the voice of its people matters. The country is an outlier in the Middle East, where no other country has a democratic form of governance. In Israel, the electorate’s voice, as reflected in the ballot box, can bring about peaceful change. This has always been a compelling feature of the United States’ support for Israel—a country that is aligned with our nation’s democratic values.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been at nonstop war with terrorist elements in the Middle East, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran. The carnage that Hamas unleashed in Israel on October 7 necessitated a strong Israeli response against both Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Iran’s proxies committed to Israel’s destruction. 

For Israel, the time had come to break the Iranian-led and -financed “Axis of Resistance.” But Israel’s military triumph against its foes has cost it a lot in terms of reputational damage in the United States, especially amongst America’s youth. Whether this is justified is beside the point. It is a reality that Israel and its elected politicians must recognize and work to repair.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arguably went overboard in his fealty to President Donald Trump. His reasons may have been justified in very narrowly calculated political terms. Loyalty is everything to President Trump, who viewed Netanyahu’s congratulating President Joe Biden on his electoral victory in 2020 as a betrayal. With Trump’s return to office in 2025, when Israel most needed the United States’s continued support, Netanyahu did not want to end up like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, so he went all in for and with Trump. 

Overtly taking sides in the US polity is a dangerous gambit for a foreign power. It is one thing for Americans to be blatantly partisan in their interactions with one another; it is another thing for a foreigner to get involved. Netanyahu got Israel too involved in US partisan politics. So long as he remains the leader of Israel, it may be very hard for Israel to reset its historical bipartisan standing in the United States.

Eisenkot faces many domestic issues and challenges in forming a viable governing coalition. Few of these challenges have anything to do with Israel’s future relations with the United States. Still, if Eisenkot succeeds in forming a coalition government within the next several weeks, he should prioritize repairing Israel’s standing with the Democratic Party while maintaining appropriately strong relations with the Republican Party and the current executive branch.

In addition, Eisenkot needs to refurbish Israel’s image with the US public. To do so, he needs to make substantive policy changes that address Israel’s future relationship with the Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Moreover, he should mount a sustained and multifaceted campaign to remind Americans why Israel is its great partner and why the United States should be Israel’s greatest ally. 

Ultimately, Israel is aligned with American political values and structures. It leads in all the fields that matter to the United States: science, medicine, technology, agriculture, and the arts. For its part, the United States should not give up on Israel. It should be open to not only resetting but also strengthening its ties to an Israel that doubles down on its commitment to US values. As Americans, we should not be swayed by misleading TikTok clips and catchy slogans that misrepresent the importance of Israel’s continued existence both as a nation and as a staunch ally of the United States in a very complex region.

About the Author: Joe Zacks

Joe Zacks is a former deputy assistant director of the CIA for Counterterrorism and an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Prior to his retirement, he spent over 42 years in the US Army and the Central Intelligence Agency. He is currently the co-founder and managing partner of Aardwolf Global Solutions, a strategic intelligence and advisory firm, a national security contributor to CBS News, and an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the US government. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying US government authentication of information or endorsement of the author’s views.

Region: Middle East

Blog: Middle East Watch

Topic: Diplomacy, Foreign Leaders

Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu, Democracy, Democratic Party, Donald Trump, Gadi Eisenkot, Israel, Levant, MENA, United States (USA), US-Israel Relations