What Israel Can Learn from America’s Midterm Elections

As a psychiatrist, a Jew, and someone born and raised in New York, I believe Israel should pay close attention to a troubling trend unfolding in the United States after the 2026 midterms: the growing power of political rage.

Last month at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, I unveiled the first national survey examining public attitudes toward what I have termed ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ and submitted a diagnostic proposal on the phenomenon to the American Psychiatric Association. The poll found that 73 percent of respondents believed strong negative feelings toward President Donald Trump would influence how people they know vote, while 77 percent believed reactions toward Trump had become more intense than those directed at recent American presidents. These findings point to a troubling reality: political emotion is increasingly replacing rational analysis in American public life.

Strong emotions have always been a part of politics, but I believe it has now reached a tipping point. Legal scholar Jonathan Turley recently observed that “rage is addictive – and they like it.” I believe he is right.

What begins as hostility toward one political figure rarely remains confined to that individual. Rage spreads. It seeks new targets. It moves from political leaders to their supporters, their allies, their institutions, and eventually the causes they champion.

This rage has found a target in the State of Israel, and not only Israel. Jews worldwide should be concerned.

Today, Israel faces two interconnected challenges in the United States. The first is the rise of anti-Israel sentiment among segments of the American political class. The second is the rise of anti-Jewish hostility in American society.

These developments are not separate.

Many Americans now accept accusations against Israel, including claims of genocide, with little understanding of the region’s history, Israel’s security challenges, or the realities of modern warfare. At the same time, anti-Jewish demonstrations and incidents have become increasingly common on college campuses and in major cities.

Compounding the problem is a generational shift within American Jewry. Fewer American children today are being sent to Sunday school or temple school, where they would be taught, as I was, that loving Israel is part of being Jewish. This makes it harder for Israel to count on support from America when today’s Jewish children grow up.

America’s recent midterm elections should serve as a warning. According to exit polls, a majority of voters were more concerned about the price of gasoline than preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power. Jewish-owned businesses in Philadelphia demonstrated that communities depend not only on supporters but also on elected officials and institutions willing to defend them. Political leadership matters. The officials elected today will determine how future threats against Jewish communities are handled tomorrow.

Israel should also consider another lesson from American politics.

Too often, voters become consumed by their feelings toward a particular leader and stop asking a more important question: What serves the long-term interests of the nation?

The issue is not whether Benjamin Netanyahu is loved or hated. The issue is whether Israelis make decisions based on emotion or strategy.

Political rage rarely stays focused on one person. It expands. It spreads.

Israel cannot afford to make critical national decisions based on anger rather than judgment.

That may be the most important lesson Israel can learn from America’s midterm elections.