As President Joe Biden greenlit another $8 billion in weapons to Israel in his last days in office and Secretary Blinken gave a parting interview to The New York Times in which he denied that a genocide is taking place in Gaza, many pro-Palestine activists are anxiously counting down the days until “Genocide Joe” and his crew exit the White House. But what will activists have to contend with under the incoming Trump presidency?
Donald Trump proved his pro-Israel allegiance in his first term by moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, supporting West Bank settlements, recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel, pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, and enacting the Abraham Accords to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states—all while disregarding the plight of Palestinians. Recently, Trump has said that the United States should let Israel “finish the job” in Gaza, warned that there will be “all hell to pay” if Israeli hostages aren’t released by the time he takes office, and threatened to blow Iran “to smithereens.”
Trump has further signaled his intentions for his second term through his appointments for a number of key positions. His pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, is a staunch Evangelical Christian Zionist who doesn’t think Israeli settlements are illegal. Huckabee told CNN in 2017 that “there is no such thing as a West Bank,” referring to the territory instead by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, and has even insisted that there is “no such thing as a Palestinian.” Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, used the House Education Committee hearings on anti-semitism to grill college presidents and demand that universities crack down on campus protests. She advocates deporting pro-Palestinian protesters who have student visas, and she calls the UN, where she will soon be working, a den of anti-semites.
What about Congress? While the 118th Congress was overwhelmingly pro-Israel, the new one, with both the Senate and the House under Republican control, will be even more overwhelmingly biased. Members want to pass a host of bills that will further cement U.S. ties to the Israeli government, punish international actors that dare try to hold Israel accountable, and repress the domestic movement for Palestinian rights. This legislation includes a bill that equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism; a bill that gives the Treasury Department the power to investigate and potentially shut down non-profit groups for dubious links to “terrorism” a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu; a bill to make permanent the U.S. ban on funding the relief agency UNRWA; and a bill to cancel trade agreements with South Africa because of its genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice.
And we can’t leave out the challenges posed by three powerful forces: the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Christian Zionists, and military contractors. In 2024, AIPAC used its financial muscle to unseat two of the most pro-Palestinian members of Congress, Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, leaving other progressive elected officials fearful of being similarly targeted. Less discussed in the national news but still enormously powerful are the tens of millions of American Christian Zionists, many of whom belong to traditions in which Israel is considered central to the eventual return of Jesus Christ. Christian Zionists—already well represented in Congress, the White House, and even the military—will be emboldened by Trump.
The third powerful lobby group is military contractors, such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, who have more lobbyists advocating for their interests in Congress than there are members of Congress itself. Thanks to the $18 billion that Congress allocated for Israel in 2024, weapons stocks have soared over the past year, dramatically outperforming the major stock indexes.
But there are countervailing forces as well. The American public has become increasingly sympathetic to Palestinians. A November opinion poll by the Arab American Institute showed that, despite the rampant pro-Israel bias of our government and corporate media, 63 percent of Americans want a ceasefire and 55 percent think the United States should not provide unrestricted financial and military assistance to the Israeli government.
This is especially true among young people and Democratic voters. With a Republican in the White House, more Democrats in positions of power should be willing to oppose Israel’s actions, since they will no longer be defying their own party’s President. And not just Democrats, many Trump supporters oppose U.S. involvement in overseas wars, and Trump himself repeatedly claimed on the campaign trail that he wants to bring peace to the Middle East.
Worldwide, more countries are not only voting for a ceasefire at the United Nations, but taking concrete measures to hold Israel accountable. There are now 17 countries that have either submitted or announced their intention to join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice, including Brazil, Spain and Turkey. Over a dozen countries have either banned, limited, or announced their intention to embargo arms to Israel, including Italy, Canada and Belgium.
In the coming year, the Palestine solidarity movement must strengthen the spine of Democrats who live in fear of AIPAC and reach out to Republicans who oppose funding foreign conflicts. The same arguments many Republicans make about stopping aid to Ukraine must be applied to Israel. Activists should expand campaigns against companies supporting Israel’s genocide, particularly at the state and city level, and build on the impressive organizing among labor, university, faith-based, and professional groups, such as doctors and lawyers. The recent resolution by the American Historical Association condemning scholasticide is a good example; so is the work of Doctors Against Genocide, which advocates on behalf of their beleaguered counterparts in Gaza.
While activists are bracing for a torrent of Trump policies that will create even more global and domestic chaos, including increased attacks on pro-Palestine organizations and individuals, the U.S. movement must be as resolute as the Palestinians themselves, who have demonstrated that, no matter what Israel does to destroy them, they remain determined to resist. The year 2025, with Trump in the White House, will not be a time for despair or retreating in fear, but a time for action.