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A Far Right Exodus on Israel

Yes, the majority of the party is still fervently aligned with Netanyahu and his war in Gaza. But a growing number of House lawmakers, bolstered by the isolationist (and occasionally antisemitic) far right, are beginning to view Israel more as a bargaining chip than a sacred cow.

Lauren Boebert matt gaetz marjorie taylor greene
The group of 21 Republicans largely characterized their decision as a protest against Speaker Mike Johnson for also allowing a vote to send $61 billion to Ukraine, especially without tacking on a border bill. Photo: Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images
Tina Nguyen
May 2, 2024

While far-left campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza have been dominating media coverage this week, filling primetime A-blocks and the Times op-ed page, a stranger, slower revolution has been working its way through Republican politics, too. Sure, the G.O.P.—like the Democratic Party—remains a nominally pro-Israel institution, and the recent aid package for Israel was approved by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. But in certain far-right pockets of the party, sentiment surrounding Israel is clearly beginning to shift in perceptible ways. Indeed, when the House bill came to the floor on April 20, nearly two dozen Republicans—including Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, Anna Paulina Luna, and Marjorie Taylor Greene—voted against it.