In today’s Middle East, it’s important to recognize that Israel is completely out of control, and no one has the will to rein them in.

This should have been understood back in July 2024, in the waning days of the Biden administration, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to Washington to address a joint session of Congress. His government had already committed atrocious war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon; killed Iran’s ayatollah and many of its political and scientific leadership; and occupied parts of Syria, destroyed much of that country’s military capacity and were working to deepen Syria’s sectarian strife. At the same time, Israeli violent settlers, backed by the military, were running roughshod over the West Bank terrorizing Palestinians and systematically demolishing the homes of thousands.

Israel’s dangerous impunity is the product of years of unwavering U.S. support and political timidity.

In his address to Congress, Netanyahu boasted that this murderous behavior  demonstrated that Israel had become the dominant force in the Middle East fighting and winning on seven fronts. You are not defending us, he claimed, we are defending you — terming his bloody rampage across the region as Israel leading the effort to protect Western civilization against the barbarism of the East.

As inflammatory and disgraceful as his words (and actions) were, he was applauded by Republicans and some Democrats, with only a handful of Democratic members of Congress vigorously protesting. The Biden administration left it to Vice President Harris to mildly rebuke Netanyahu.

During the past five U.S. administrations, this pattern of behavior — outright support for Israeli crimes or silence and timidity in the face of them — has fostered Israel’s impunity and its megalomaniacal sense of mission. President Clinton termed Netanyahu impossible or ridiculous; Obama considered him “incorrigible” and even Trump has described his frustration with the Israeli leader in harsh, obscene language. But none have taken firm steps to rein him in.

In the wake of President Trump’s half-baked “deal” attempting to end his ill-considered, costly war with Iran, Netanyahu has been quiet. He has left criticism to ministers in his cabinet and opposition party leaders. Vice-President JD Vance’s rebuke of Israeli critics was noteworthy, but absent threats of serious changes in policy Vance’s words will be dismissed as nothing more than words.

At this point it must be noted that Israel’s dangerous impunity and expansive sense of mission is not just a Netanyahu problem. It’s a deeper Israeli problem that’s historically manifested itself in two ways.

During the Clinton and Obama years, when the U.S. wanted the Israelis to stop settlement expansion or honor terms of agreements that were being broken, their administrations hesitated to take tough measures against Israel, or even use tougher language, for fear of being counterproductive and emboldening Israel’s hardline right. As a result, there were no crackdowns on Israeli governments led by Yitzak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ehud Olmert and Naftali Bennet.

The problem in today’s Middle East isn’t just Netanyahu. It’s an entire political culture gone off the rails.

This deference toward Israeli leaders, out of concern for the problems they’d face from hardliners if forced to make hard decisions, is never shown toward Palestinian or other Arab leaders. This coddling has resulted in emboldening and empowering Israeli hardliners to the point where they and their espoused views dominate today’s Israeli politics. While there are “liberals” contesting Netanyahu’s coalition government, their liberalism is defined by opposition to Netanyahu’s corruption, authoritarian instinct and courting of the ultraorthodox and their religious policies imposed on the rest of Israeli society.

The opposition parties contesting Netanyahu in the next election not only are not challenging his war policies, but also are posing as more hawkish on Israel’s wars and its treatment of Palestinians. In fact, the main contenders to head a post-Netanyahu Israeli government have roundly condemned his agreement to ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. They have uniformly denounced what they’ve called his displays of subservience to U.S. President Trump thereby making Israel appear to be a “vassal state.” All have criticized the recently announced U.S.-Iran peace agreement, with the self-described “liberal” Democrat party suggesting that it threatens to “erase all of the gains Israel had achieved” in their war on Iran.

Without meaningful consequences from Washington, Israel’s out-of-control behavior will continue to set the Middle East on fire.

To U.S. liberals it should be clear that the problem in today’s Middle East isn’t just Netanyahu. His defeat won’t mean “Happy Days Are Here Again.” It’s an entire political culture gone off the rails. It will only change if we make Israel pay a price by ending aid and political and military cooperation, thereby creating a shock that will force a political reckoning in the country. If we don’t act, Israel’s out-of-control rogue behaviors will continue to set the Middle East on fire and we will be complicit in all that they do.

– Dr. James Zogby is the president and founder of the Washington based Arab American Institute (AAI)