Joaquin Flores
The unquestioning alliance with Likud-era Zionism no longer commands the same moral or political authority it once did.
The unquestioning alliance with Likud-era Zionism no longer commands the same moral or political authority it once did. A generation of Americans, weary of endless wars and global entanglements justified in the name of "shared values," now demands a relationship guided by realism and reciprocity, not ritualized obeisance.
On October 28th, Israel's Netanyahu breached the ceasefire, accusing Hamas of not fulfilling its peace agreement obligations on the return of hostages. This is the sort of strange accusation from the Israeli PM that we have grown accustomed to. It is also frustrating; Palestinians have had some difficulty retrieving bodies of Israeli POW's under the ruble of buildings that the IDF, under the same Netanyahu's orders, had themselves destroyed. There was no real Hamas action that Netanyahu was responding to, an apparently arbitrary decision that could have been made sooner. And here is where we can look, for it was only a few days before that U.S. Vice President JD Vance had been in Israel on a noteworthy visit that was marked by U.S.-Israel tensions. Netanyahu, for his part, would have been strategically better off had he breached the ceasefire while Vance was in-country, as this would have lent it the veneer of U.S. support. What then can we take make of the nature of Vance's visit and the things that did and did not happen, both when he was there, and shortly after he departed?
Vance immediately downplayed the Israeli breach as a minor skirmish, which to the unwitting might be interpreted as even giving Israel a pass. Rather, Netanyahu plays upon the pessimism of Western pro-Palestine activists who see the peace plan as too much a compromise for Palestine, and who believe the peace will fail at any moment. Once this becomes the common sense view, then its realization (a broken ceasefire) falls under the domain of confirmation bias. Then as Netanyahu reverts to his war aims, it happens within the very domain of the projections of Western pro-Palestine activists themselves. In a twisted and inverted way, Netanyahu's agenda actually becomes strengthened and unchallengeable.
Fortunately at the time of writing, Israel agreed on the morning of October 29th to resume observing the ceasefire, no doubt under pressure from the Trump administration, which has staked its reputation on the peace plan's success.
What happened during Vance's Israel visit?
It's worth pausing for a moment on the curious choreography of Vance's recent visit to Israel. On the surface, it looked routine, as a high-level U.S. official lands in Jerusalem, meets with the Israeli prime minister, and reiterates support for the alliance. But a closer look suggests extraordinary symbolism that deserves some unpacking. Over the years, it had become standard practice for American officials to visit the Wailing Wall, the western wall of the temple, and make a photo-op out of resting one's forehead on the wall and often even kissing it. But there are two things that stand out significantly: JD Vance did not visit the wall, and went instead to honor and pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
In light of the events over the 28th and 29th of October, what transpired during Vance's visit to Israel from the 21st through 23rd, a week earlier, can be better understood. Even during Vance's visit, there was an open fight between Netanyahu and Vance over the question of the West Bank, which lends credence to the idea that Vance's skipping the Wailing Wall and instead visiting the Holy Sepulchre was a multi-layered message, and one defiant of Netanyahu's aims.
A U.S.-Israel row during Vance's visit
If Vance's mere visit to the ancient Christian church was all there was to the story, it would nevertheless be highly significant for many reasons. But the background in U.S.-Israel relations, including a Knesset vote backed by Netanyahu's Likud Party to annex the West Bank, (which Vance characterized as an Israeli 'stunt' during his visit, see below) provides us with a more robust conclusion.
During his visit Vance felt the need to clarify that the U.S. does not view Israel as a 'vassal state', something which many in the Israeli leadership have been muttering under their breaths, in the context of U.S. President Donald Trump apparently effecting what this author has characterized as a ' policy coup' against Israeli PM Netanyahu.
This notion is pervasive in Israeli popular culture right now, as exemplified on Channel 2's comedy show, Eretz Nehederet, which portrays Trump as a Caesar determining Israel policy. This dovetails interestingly with our recent piece which asks if Trump is a Caesar.
Responding to the Likud Party's proposed legislation to annex the West Bank, Vance said that he was personally insulted by this 'very stupid' political stunt.
Yair Rosenberg, writing for The Atlantic, encapsulated the event:
<<Asked about the Knesset vote on the tarmac, Vance acknowledged that it was symbolic, but he was not amused. "If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it," he said. "The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy." That same day, Time published an interview with Trump in which the president was asked about annexation. "It won't happen, because I gave my word to the Arab countries," he replied. "Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened."
Netanyahu didn't take long to shift into damage-control mode. He put out a statement that falsely attributed the parliamentary vote to the opposition, and pledged that his party, Likud, would not advance the legislation.
This dustup will not harm the U.S.-Israel relationship in the near term, but it portends more consequential conflict to come. That's because the Israeli hard right-a crucial and dominant component of Netanyahu's coalition-is at war with Trump's regional agenda, and its aspirations are incompatible with the president's ambitions.>>
Symbolism of tremendous significance
For Americans increasingly apprehensive about the nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship, the Wailing Wall visit has come to mean something akin to 'kissing the ring' of Zionism, and increasingly of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally. It is seen as subservience to Israeli power structures, unwavering support for aggressive Likudnik politics, and a commitment to pursuing Israeli policy in the Mideast region and also Palestine, regardless of American interests or how Americans themselves might feel about it.
Vance touched down in Israel amid the ongoing efforts by the U.S. to anchor the fragile cease-fire between Hamas and Israel and chart the next phase of the now-well-known " 20-point plan" of the Donald Trump administration. Israeli news outlets had noted on October 21st that an itinerary item included a planned visit by Vance to the Western (Wailing) Wall (the Kotel) and a joint press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu. But then, something else happened. Vance did not in fact go to the Wall. Instead, he visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and his public remarks avoided specific mention of Netanyahu by name, instead referring to "our Israeli partners".
Vance went to the church to light a candle, touched and paid respects to the Stone of Anointing, which is the stone table where Christ's body was prepared for burial after the Crucifixion, and prayed at the Chapel of the Crucifixion which is located above Golgotha.
On Thursday, October 23rd, he attended a private Mass celebrated by Franciscan monks and participated in traditional Christian rites, including lighting a candle, touching the Stone of Anointing with Roman, Armenian, and Greek monks, and prayed at the Chapel of the Crucifixion. Vance later described the visit as an "amazing blessing" and expressed gratitude to the clergy who have dedicated their labors to the holy site.
A visit to the Kotel is a near-ritual for American officials visiting Jerusalem, and one which Vance obliged in July of 2024 before the victory of the Trump-Vance ticket in subsequent American elections later in November of the same year. On the other hand, the Sepulchre evokes the immediate region's Christian heritage, the medieval Christian pilgrims of the past, and the longer arc of religion in Jerusalem beyond Zionist regional hegemony or Jewish nationalism. There is also a strong signal being sent to Christian pilgrims to historical Christian holy sites in Israel today, the abuse they sometimes encounter, and the Israeli state that turns a blind-eye to a series of assaults on visitors carried out by radicalized and religious Israeli youth.
By visiting the Sepulchre but foregoing the Wall-moment, Vance signaled that his interest is not in the traditional U.S. evangelical or pro-Israel script, but instead to a growing segment of American Christians who view Israel's policies critically. This is not only a criticism of the influence of AIPAC and Israeli regional policy on American policy, connecting to the 'forever wars' that American voters have come to largely reject. It also reflects a growing problem with Israel as, in the words of former President Jimmy Carter, an "apartheid state" which denies the basic rights and humanity of Palestinians.
And what about leaving Netanyahu out of his statements?
In his talks with press, Vance repeatedly spoke of "our Israeli partners," not the prime minister by name. That's not standard, because usually you have the "meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu" headline. He did in fact meet with Netanyahu, but it was a quietly reported affair without any hype, taking place in the scandal-ridden Israeli leader's office. Here the omission is subtle but distinct. What could it reflect? For one, a desire to frame the relationship as broader than one individual; secondly we find a message that U.S. policy of the Trump administration is less person-centric, and this connects with a growing recognition of the political fragility of Netanyahu's coalition and the unpredictability of Israeli politics right now. Netanyahu's 'stupid stunt', as Vance framed it, probably figures in to this as well.
Has Vance set a new precedent?
Vance may be the first U.S. official to visit Israel in many years to meet the PM but skip the Western Wall stop, and instead go to the Holy Sepulchre. This posture is indeed quite telling. It says that the U.S. relationship is changing, and so is the country itself; Christian religion and heritage matter in multiple ways. It also suggests the U.S. wants a relationship beyond personalities, beyond a single leader. And it signals a U.S. official choosing not to play the usual image expectations, to avoid the "photo-op Zionist ritual of obedience", kissing the ring (the wall) and instead emphasizes that the geopolitical relationship is redirecting, driven not only by changes in the world and the importance of America's regional Arab allies, but also big shifts in U.S. domestic attitudes about Israel.
Attacks on Christian clergy and tourists: Vance's undercurrent of "Protection"
Vance's visit to the Sepulchre also speaks to an ongoing problem faced by modern-day Christian pilgrims to Israel. There has been a noticeable uptick in incidents where ultra-religious Jewish youths in Jerusalem target Christian clergy, tourists and church sites. For example, in one reported case a foreign Christian priest in the Old City was spit on and verbally harassed by young ultra-Orthodox men as he walked out of the Armenian Convent.
Another study found 111 documented attacks by Jews on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem in 2024, including spitting, pepper-spraying, defacement of church property and harassment.
So what might this mean for the broader symbolism of a U.S. official visit to Jerusalem when that official visits Christian holy sites rather than the more commonly visited Jewish sites?
By opting for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre rather than the Western Wall, Vance acknowledges the vulnerable position of Christians in Israel/Palestine often overshadowed in public diplomacy and legacy media.
In other words, there is an undercurrent of protecting Christians in the region. Not necessarily as a headline agenda, but as a diplomatic gesture which those looking for will no doubt find, and find in bold font. By emphasizing Christian holy sites and by avoiding the usual ritualized Kotel stop (and its highly visible photo-ops), the diplomatic choreography may be signaling that the U.S. takes seriously the multilayered religious dimensions of Jerusalem, including the Christian minority that reports feeling marginalized and abused.
In conclusion
In the end, JD Vance's visit to Israel will be remembered less for what he said than for what he did. By declining the familiar choreography at the Western Wall and instead walking the dim, incense-filled halls of the Holy Sepulchre, Vance sent a message that spoke louder than any press release. It was a quiet rejection of the reflexive ritual of political deference that has long defined U.S. visits to Israel, and an embrace of a deeper, older spiritual lineage rooted in Christianity's presence in the Holy Land.
That gesture also reflects a broader turn in American politics. The unquestioning alliance with Likud-era Zionism no longer commands the same moral or political authority it once did. A generation of Americans, weary of endless wars and global entanglements justified in the name of "shared values," now demands a relationship guided by realism and reciprocity, not ritualized obeisance.
Vance's act was therefore not merely political, but civilizational in tone. It gestured toward an America rediscovering its own religious and cultural roots, aware of both the suffering of Christians in the region and the moral contradictions of an alliance that excuses apartheid under the banner of democracy. Whether this signals a lasting policy shift or a single symbolic departure remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: in Jerusalem, Vance chose prayer over performance, and that choice has redrawn the map of meaning in U.S.-Israel relations.
Follow Joaquin Flores on Telegram @NewResistance or on X/Twitter @XoaquinFlores