It’s not unusual for American and Israeli leftists to embarrass themselves. But this week, they did so almost simultaneously, despite their transatlantic tantrums having been unrelated.
The scenes in question did have one thing in common, however, other than the fact that they took place mere hours apart, on Feb. 24-25. In each country, the targets of the virtue-signalers not only remained unscathed; they actually benefited from the spectacles.
Let’s start with the drama in Washington, D.C, on the occasion of U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. During the nearly two-hour speech, most members of the Democratic Party refused to applaud—and stayed glued to their seats throughout—even when bipartisanship should have been a no-brainer.
Take, for instance, Trump’s pointing to the gallery to introduce and pay condolences to the mother of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian refugee murdered last August by a crazed criminal on a train in Charlotte, N.C. Rather than acknowledge the tragedy, the majority of Democrats appeared stone-faced, if not outright bored.
Equally egregious conduct was displayed when Trump issued the following challenge: “If you agree that the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens, then stand up and show your support.”
Other than Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and a handful of fellow old-style Democrats, their side of the aisle didn’t budge. In contrast, all Republicans jumped to their feet.
These were only two examples of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” in action on the floor of the House of Representatives, no less. And this is while radical “Squad” icons Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)—the former, from Somalia, throwing a fit over Trump’s comments about the massive fraud at Somali-run day-care centers in her state; the latter wearing a keffiyeh around her neck and a “F**k ICE” pin on her lapel—spent the entire time heckling.
The joke was on them, however, as it gave Trump the opportunity to return fire. Ditto for the rest of the Democrats, who walked right into his trap.
Nothing like showing up a bunch of sourpusses whose loathing for the president comes off as anti-Americanism—which, in the case of Omar, Tlaib and their ilk, it actually is.
Now for a similar “own goal” scored that day by the Israeli opposition. That occurred when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the Jewish state and addressed the Knesset.
Ahead of his momentous visit—to sign a whopping 16 cooperation agreements, spanning agriculture, drone technology, satellite data, irrigation and fertilization management, pest control, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, education, digital finance, labor mobility, energy planning, defense coordination, trade facilitation, cultural exchange, innovation hubs and joint development initiatives—the anti-government lawmakers were apoplectic. Not about Modi, but rather due to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana’s decision not to invite Supreme Court president Yitzhak Amit to the event.
This wasn’t the first time Ohana had gone against traditional protocol to nix Amit’s attendance at a historic parliamentary gathering. He did so, as well, when Trump spoke to the Knesset on Oct. 13, 2025.
The reason for this has to do with the government’s view that Amit doesn’t deserve his title as chief justice of the Supreme Court since he and his cronies appointed him through an illegitimate process. And reforming the judicial system—part of the very “deep state” of unelected officials overriding the laws forged by elected ones—has been a key goal of the current ruling coalition.
So, the opposition couldn’t have been surprised by Ohana’s move, making their outrage mainly performative.
Their initial reaction was to announce that they would boycott the proceedings. Fearing that the plenum would be partially empty for Modi’s appearance, Ohana came up with a plan: to fill the seats with former Knesset members.
But opposition leader Yair Lapid, who suffers from two afflictions—FOMO (fear of missing out) and near annihilation in the polls—didn’t want to squander his chance to take to the podium. The upshot was that the legislators who were furious about Amit’s absence walked out when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke, then returned for Modi’s oratory.
Lapid began his brief remarks by turning to the Indian prime minister and assuring him that “nothing that happened here has anything to do with you. The entire State of Israel is filled with admiration for your leadership and your friendship. You stood by us in our difficult hour. Thank you very much for coming here, and on behalf of both sides of the plenum, we are excited to hear your speech.”
In other words, the crisis, like the media storm surrounding it, wasn’t averted; it was orchestrated. And it failed abysmally.
The Democrats’ puerile posture on Capitol Hill risked alienating swing voters in the midterms, providing Team Trump with fabulous fodder for campaign ads.
In the same vein, while the stunt pulled by the “anybody but Bibi” contingent in the Knesset didn’t put a dent in the state’s standing with a crucial geopolitical ally, it might have hurt the left’s showing in the next election, slated for later this year. If so, the humiliation will have been both self-inflicted and well-deserved.
