U.S. Sanctions and the Slippery Slope of Israeli Politics

On February 1, 2024, the Biden Administration passed an Executive Order sanctioning “persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.” The first batch of sanctions hit four Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, who were accused of assaulting local Palestinians. Over the next ten months, the tally grew to 17 individuals. These sanctions froze their U.S. assets and barred Americans from dealing with them. Sanctions prevented Israeli banks from lending them any money. The Biden Administration didn’t stop at people. It targeted 16 entities too, mostly tied to “settler violence” or “illegal outposts.”

One of these organizations was Amana, Israel’s biggest settlement development group, which was accused of supporting “violent outposts” like Meitarim Farm. Amana is a juggernaut in Judea and Samaria housing, making this a big swing. In 1996, Amana was wholly responsible for building Moreshet, my home town, in the Western Galilee, well within the confines of pre-1967 Israel. Another one of these organizations is “Tzav-9” — Hebrew for “Order-9,” a nod to military reservist call-ups. Formed in January 2024, Tzav-9 is an Israeli activist group founded by reservists and families of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Tzav-9 blocked humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza, arguing that aid ended up with Hamas instead of civilians – which it indeed did. The U.S. State Department labelled Tzav-9 a “violent extremist Israeli group.”

No Israeli would ever deny the U.S. government the right to sanction entities that it considers dangerous. The problem lies with the fact that none of the individuals that were sanctioned had been arrested or even charged by the Israeli police. The definition of “persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank” seems overly fuzzy. The term is subjective, broad, a catch-all that is tough to pin down precisely. Proving it is not hard for the U.S. State Department – they have videos, witnesses, and a low bar (“credible” beats “proven”). But for the sanctioned entities, it’s an absolute beast to fight. These vague accusations stick like glue. Many Israelis believe that the sanctions were a way of imposing American policy on Israel such as the long-dead two-state solution and a forced end of the Gaza War before Israel had achieved her goals. The U.S. had used a fuzzy term to cherry-pick targets, sidestepped Israel’s courts, and timed it with diplomatic goals.

The Trump Administration repealed all of the sanctions on January 20, 2025 on the President’s first day back in office after being sworn in as the President. Trump’s team pitched it as a correction to Biden’s “misguided” policy. A White House statement said the sanctions “unfairly targeted Israeli citizens” and “weakened an ally.” X’s @Osint613 (January 21) echoed this: “Trump fixing Biden’s mess – sanctions were anti-Semitic nonsense.” All’s well that ends well.

Well, sort of. Enter Moshe Cohen-Eliya, President of the College of Law and Business in Ramat Gan. Cohen-Eliya is a constitutional law expert who has been vocal about Israel’s judiciary, especially its Supreme Court. Lately, he has pivoted from the political left to the right. Last week, Cohen-Eliya argued that Israel’s Supreme Court has seized sovereign power, turning the country into a “juristocracy.” He is now testing the waters to push the Trump Administration to slap American sanctions on Israel’s judiciary and its allies to “restore democracy.” He doesn’t name left-leaning NGOs or media outright, but his beef is with the “deep state” – a term quickly making its way into the right-wing lexicon, used for judges, legal elites, and their backers. In Israel, that group often includes left-leaning outfits like B’Tselem or New Israel Fund, which defend judicial independence and oppose right-wing reforms. Sanctions on “judiciary allies” could easily snag these groups. 

Amit Segal, a very popular right-wing pundit, came out vociferously on his Telegram stream against Cohen-Eliya and others who might seek to impose their will on Israeli citizens through outsourcing. “It was pathetic, ridiculous and pathetic to see the ‘Biden save us’ signs being waved at the [anti-Netanyahu] demonstrations, and it is pathetic, ridiculous and pathetic to hear the cries of ‘Trump save us’ from the Israeli right-wing. The addiction of opposition factions to foreign money and foreign influence is further understandable because of their long-standing failure to convince the Israeli public. But what is the right-wing’s excuse for such a cowardly act of ‘Wait, wait, my father will beat you up’?”

Israelis with any sense of history cannot help but to recall a similar event that happened more than 2,000 years ago. It starts in 67 BCE when Queen Salome Alexandra dies, leaving Hyrcanus, her elder son, as king and High Priest. He is a mild-mannered Pharisee, but his younger brother Aristobulus, a bold Sadducee with military swagger, isn’t having it. Within three months, Aristobulus rallies an army, clashes with Hyrcanus, and forces him to surrender the throne. Hyrcanus steps aside, thinking he’s out of the game, but the peace is a mirage.

Two years later, Hyrcanus, convinced that Aristobulus might kill him, drags the Nabataean King Aretas III into the fray. Aretas brings 50,000 troops, smashes Aristobulus’ forces, and traps him in Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Aristobulus holds out, but the civil war is a mess. Both brothers send envoys to the Romans pleading their case. Roman General Pompey the Great marches into Israel. Hyrcanus’ faction opens Jerusalem’s gates, but Aristobulus barricades the Temple, sparking a three-month siege. Pompey breaches it, and he strolls into the Holy of Holies. He installs Hyrcanus as High Priest, no king title, and ships Aristobulus to Rome, claiming he’s restoring order. It is actually Rome’s takeover. Judea becomes a client state. The brothers’ feud handed Pompey the excuse to lock down Judea, ending Hasmonean independence under the guise of peacekeeping. Less than 150 years later, the Romans burnt Jerusalem to the ground, destroyed the Holy Temple, and sent the Jews into exile for two-thousand years.

The moral to this story is clear: U.S. support is critical for Israel’s survival. From Iron Dome interceptors to 2000-lb bombs to serving as a diplomatic shield on the world stage, the U.S. gives Israel irreplaceable military and diplomatic support. But our internal politics should remain just that: internal. Bringing in external entities to adjudicate Israeli internal issues has never been a good idea, and it never will be one.  

Good things,

Ari Sacher