Israel’s supporters keep proving its detractors right(证明批评者是对的). Over the last couple of years, Americans from across the ideological spectrum(意识形态光谱) – from Bernie Sanders to Tucker Carlson – have grown increasingly enraged(暴怒的，激怒的) by the way pro-Israel billionaires restrict Americans’ free speech. So, last month, along comes the New York England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, allegedly in tandem with(与……协同，联手) other stadium owners, and pushes Ed Sheeran to drop Macklemore from his US tour because the rapper uttered(说出，脱口而出) “Free Palestine” on stage. It’s hard to imagine anything more likely to intensify fury towards the Aipac(美国以色列公共事务委员会) class.
以色列的支持者不断证明批评者是对的。过去几年，从伯尼·桑德斯到塔克·卡尔森，美国各意识形态阵营的人越来越愤怒，因为亲以色列的亿万富翁限制美国人的言论自由。于是上个月，新英格兰爱国者队老板罗伯特·克拉夫特——据称与其他体育场老板联手——施压艾德·希兰，要求他把马克尔莫从美国巡演中除名，原因是这位说唱歌手在台上说了“自由巴勒斯坦”。很难想象还有什么比这更能激起人们对美国以色列公共事务委员会（Aipac）阶层的怒火。
Then Benjamin Netanyahu does something equally self-defeating(自毁式的，适得其反的). Since 2018, Israel’s favorability rating(好感度，支持率) among Americans has dropped by an astonishing 67 points. A plurality(相对多数) of Democrats with views on the subject consider Israel to be “a state with segregation similar to apartheid(种族隔离制度)” rather than a democracy. Yet faced with an American public that increasingly rejects Israel’s self-presentation as a bastion of freedom(自由的堡垒), Benjamin Netanyahu’s party has pushed to ban Arab parties, undercutting(削弱，破坏) claims about Israel being a democracy for its Palestinian citizens. He’s undermining his own hasbara(以色列的对外宣传).
接着本雅明·内塔尼亚胡做了同样自毁的事。自2018年以来，以色列在美国人中的好感度惊人地下跌了67个百分点。在有相关看法的民主党人中，相对多数认为以色列是“一个实行类似种族隔离制度的国家”，而非民主国家。然而，面对越来越不接受以色列自我标榜为自由堡垒的美国公众，内塔尼亚胡的政党却推动取缔阿拉伯政党，这削弱了以色列是其巴勒斯坦公民的民主国家的说法。他正在破坏自己的“哈斯巴拉”（对外宣传）。
Kraft and Netanyahu’s actions aren’t merely morally loathsome(令人作呕的，可憎的). They’re politically stupid. Were pro-Israel leaders savvy(精明的，有见识的), they would greet the turn in American opinion with tactical concessions(策略性让步) aimed at salvaging(挽救，抢救) Israel’s reputation. Instead, they’re doubling down(变本加厉，加倍下注).
克拉夫特和内塔尼亚胡的行为不仅在道德上令人作呕，在政治上也愚蠢至极。如果亲以色列的领导人足够精明，他们本会以策略性让步来回应美国民意的转变，以挽救以色列的声誉。可他们反而在变本加厉。