A new anti-Israel narrative is taking shape among elements of the Democratic Party. It’s not about Gaza, settlements in Judea and Samaria, or Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s more menacing and fundamental. The new Big Lie is that the world’s only Jewish state now belongs in the global category of “authoritarian” or “hybrid authoritarian” regimes, and that supporting it is no longer compatible with defending democracy.
An essay published this week in The New York Times by Ben Rhodes, a prominent former Obama administration official, is a clear example of this line of attack. Rhodes urges Democrats to stop supporting Israel as punishment for its supposed “war crimes” and “genocide” in Gaza and because Netanyahu – who he claims follows a “now-familiar authoritarian playbook” – has led Israel in a “far-right direction.”
Comparing Netanyahu to Vladimir Putin, Rhodes insists that even if the prime minister is replaced, Israeli Jews have become so “right-wing” that no Israeli government can be expected to alter course without massive American pressure.
This isn’t an academic argument. It’s a political weapon. Once Israel is located on the wrong side of the democracy-vs.-authoritarianism divide, the policy consequences follow automatically: halt or permanently end all arms shipments, welcome International Criminal Court prosecutions of Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, cut diplomatic cover, and pressure Jerusalem into making territorial concessions with potentially catastrophic consequences.
There is method to this madness. Branding Israel as authoritarian is part of a broader crusade against democratic governments and political movements that progressives seek to delegitimize because they reject the dogma of open borders, uncontrolled mass migration, and the suicidal appeasement of Islamism.
Hungary is the chief target of this offensive. A multiparty parliamentary democracy, Hungary holds competitive elections, seats opposition parties, maintains independent courts, and sustains real political contestation. Prime Minister Viktor Orban wins not because he manipulates the system, but because a majority of Hungarians prefer his positions on immigration, national identity, and sovereignty.
The British political party called Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is another example. Once a minor insurgent force, it now stands among Britain’s three main UK-wide parties, with five Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, one member in the House of Lords – and surging popularity. Critics call it “right-wing populist,” but Reform UK presents itself as a “common-sense people’s party,” focused on immigration control, economic reform, national security, and opposition to woke institutional capture.
If Reform UK and Hungary are “authoritarian,” then the word has lost all meaning.
Sadly, some liberal Jewish organizations echo this framing. They claim it is somehow in the “Jewish interest” to condemn Hungary or oppose a party like Reform UK. This is self-destructive nonsense.
Hungary is one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe. It consistently supports Israel’s right to use force in Gaza, regularly blocks or dilutes EU and UN statements critical of Israeli actions, and has initiated a withdrawal from the ICC after its obscene attempt to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. When the pullout is completed, Hungary will be the first EU country to have left the Israel-bashing kangaroo court.
Hungary also credibly describes itself as “the safest country in Europe” for Jews. It has invested heavily in restoring synagogues and Jewish heritage sites, and has sharply limited pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Government buildings and public spaces feature official “Stand with Israel” banners. Support for Israel isn’t symbolic in Hungary; it’s embedded in national policy.
Reform UK is likewise staunchly pro-Israel, emphasizing Israel’s right to robust self-defense and opposing British recognition of a nonexistent Palestinian state – correctly arguing that such recognition rewards terrorism and undermines Israel’s negotiating position.
And yet American Jews are being told – often by Jewish groups aligned with the Democratic Party – that “defending democracy” supposedly requires rejecting or denouncing these democratic allies of Israel. Orban and Farage are smeared not merely as authoritarian but as dangerous heretics inside the EU, NATO, and the wider West – so-called nodes in a mythical “transnational authoritarian network.”
This isn’t about democracy. It’s about coercing the Jewish community into aligning with a left-liberal ideological agenda that endangers Israel’s security and undermines its diplomatic standing.
The problem isn’t just that Israel’s allies are unfairly labeled as authoritarian. The deeper danger is that American Jews are being pressured to accept the label, internalize it, and act against their own interests. No community with a sense of history – or self-preservation – should allow itself to be conscripted into such a campaign.
Let’s be clear: for American Jews who genuinely care about the safety and well-being of Israel, the only sensible and ethical position is to support – or at the very least, not oppose – countries that are pro-Israel. It really is that simple.
To do otherwise is to functionally aid forces that aim to isolate, delegitimize, and ultimately dismantle the Jewish state.
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