Senior Israeli officials were taken aback by the intensity of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance's criticism, but opted not to respond publicly to avoid widening the rift with President Trump and due to Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision to hold the line on red lines in Lebanon, according to an Israeli source. Only far-right figures Itamar Ben Gvir and MK Miki Zohar issued public responses. An Israeli official told the source: 'Netanyahu brought Trump the clusterfuck; we need to ask ourselves how we got here.'
Israeli officials were stunned by the intensity of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance's broadside Thursday evening, according to a report in Israeli media. The source said the cabinet chose not to issue a formal response — both to avoid deepening the rift with President Donald Trump and because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to hold Israel's red lines in Lebanon, and a public spat would undercut that posture. Only National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and MK Miki Zohar (Likud) issued public replies to Vance. The report frames the crisis as a serious rupture in U.S.-Israel relations, with one official quoted saying Netanyahu 'brought Trump the clusterfuck,' and Israelis need to examine how the relationship reached this point.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Thursday, Vance directly addressed Netanyahu's cabinet, saying Trump is 'the only world leader sympathetic to Israel right now' and warning that Israel was 'built from our money.' Vance's latest remarks escalate his pressure, accusing Israeli officials of attacking Trump personally and undermining the emerging U.S.-Iran deal. The report notes that most of the cabinet chose silence, leaving Ben Gvir and Zohar as the sole public responders — a dynamic that underscores the governing coalition's unease with the public breach with Washington.
It remains unclear whether Netanyahu will address Vance's comments directly. The source indicates the prime minister's priority is maintaining operational freedom in Lebanon, and that engaging Vance publicly risked drawing Trump into the quarrel. No official Israeli government statement has been issued as of late Thursday.
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Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
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