A member of the New York Times editorial board suggested that pro-Israel Republicans were more loyal to Israel than to the United States on Friday.
"Should loyalty b 2 US or Israel? [U.S. and Israel’s] interests not always same: GOP, in Shift, Demand Lockstep Support for Israel," tweeted Carol Giacomo, who covers foreign affairs issues for the editorial board. Giacomo linked to an article originally headlined "Republicans, in Shift, Demand Lockstep Support for Israel" that was published in the Times on Friday. The article’s headline was later changed to "For G.O.P., Support for Israel Becomes New Litmus Test."
The article highlighted how support for Israel has grown among Republicans in the two decades since the George H.W. Bush administration. It also reported that likely presidential contender Jeb Bush has faced backlash over one of his foreign policy advisers, former secretary of state Jim Baker.
Baker, who has a long history of supporting anti-Israel policies, gave the keynote address at the annual J Street conference earlier this week. Bush has spent the past few days doing damage control.
The mainstream GOP shares a common view with the current Israeli administration on Iran’s nuclear program and Islamic terrorism, in addition to seeing support for the Jewish state as "a measure of American reliability with its friends," former Obama adviser and Baker aide Dennis Ross told the Times.
Twitter users blasted Giacomo’s comment questioning Republican loyalty to the United States as "Totally inappropriate" and "Bottom of barrel, even for the @nytimes."
"Member of NYT editorial board accuses pro-Israel Republicans of dual loyalty," tweeted Noah Pollak, executive director of the Emergency Committee for Israel.