Shock in Israel Following JD Vance's Attack on Cabinet Ministers

Israel experienced a wave of shock after the US Vice President JD Vance launched a sharp attack on its cabinet ministers. However, Israeli officials chose not to respond in kind or engage in emotional reactions.

According to the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, this decision stemmed from Israel's desire to avoid further widening the rift with US President Donald Trump. Trump had repeatedly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days and posted a tweet on Thursday evening outlining his current expectations, including those from Israel.

Trump stated, "The United States is committed to peace, and we urge all Middle Eastern countries to continue their commitment to allow our negotiations to proceed smoothly. Markets are showing a marked recovery with falling oil prices and rising stock prices. We expect a complete ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel."

Although nearly the entire Israeli leadership opposes the agreement with Iran, Netanyahu refrained from speaking against it, possibly because he believes a final agreement will not be signed and that the current approach is to wait. It is also likely that he views the next opportunity to act against Iran as coming only after the US midterm elections in November. Meanwhile, Israeli army directives are to prepare for unilateral action against Iran, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

The true reason for Israel's silence is its intention to maintain its red lines in Lebanon. Israel opposes withdrawing from southern Lebanon and recognizes that pressure to limit military operations across various arenas will increase, but retreat is not an option. Netanyahu clarified in his speech yesterday during the inauguration of the "Tanakh Road" that Israel must preserve the security strip in southern Lebanon and will not withdraw as long as security needs require it, in other words, as long as Hezbollah has not evacuated the area north of the Litani River.

Israeli officials were taken aback by Vance's harsh criticism of Israel and the implicit threats to impose an arms embargo. An Israeli official familiar with the details told Yedioth Ahronoth, "Vance is simply telling Netanyahu, 'Control your ministers; this will not pass quietly,' and he is embarrassing him. Vance has done the same with Europeans, Germans, and NATO allies. This reflects the spirit prevailing in these wings of the Republican Party that form the majority today, as most media budgets go to evangelicals because we are losing them too."

The official added, "Netanyahu has brought severe headaches to Trump and Vance. We must ask ourselves how we reached a situation where we are even losing American support."

At a press conference, Vance addressed the cabinet ministers with a twofold message: "First, Donald Trump is the only leader in the entire world showing sympathy toward Israel at this moment. If I were a member of the Israeli government cabinet, I probably would not attack my only strong ally left in the entire world. The second message is – over the past few months, two-thirds of the defense systems protecting your country were made by American hands and funded by American taxpayers. Israel's problem is not Donald Trump. Anyone in Israel who thinks otherwise needs to wake up and recognize the reality this state lives in."

Before the press conference, Vance expressed similar views about the cabinet ministers in an interview with The New York Times: "I do not think Bibi (Netanyahu) himself has actually criticized the agreement because I think he might know its details a bit more closely. But we have seen people like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attacking the agreement. My response to them would be: what exactly is your proposal? You are a country of 9 million people. You cannot simply solve every national security problem by killing more and more people."

Ben-Gvir responded to Vice President Vance on Twitter, saying, "This is my proposal, JD Vance: deal with the Nazis of the 21st century just as the United States dealt with the Nazis of the 20th century."

Likud Party Minister Miki Zohar was the first to respond to Vance's remarks in his speech, writing: "The intelligence information we provide to the United States has saved countless American lives. The technologies developed in Israel are used by the US military before anyone else. The partnership between Israel and the United States is important for the free world."