The MAGA-Israel divide: Why some anti-Israel activists are celebrating
There is an old rule in politics: pay attention not only to who is fighting, but also to who is cheering from the sidelines. A growing battle inside the MAGA movement over foreign policy and America’s role abroad is increasingly putting Israel at the center of the divide.
Figures like Tucker Carlson and Thomas Massie push for a more restrained U.S. foreign policy, while other conservatives argue for continued strong support of Israel.
With that backdrop, Osama Abuirshaid, executive director of American Muslims for Palestine – a group critics have linked to the Muslim Brotherhood movement – appears to be welcoming the growing rift inside MAGA.
Speaking at the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, New Jersey, during an event titled “The Night Journey & Cultivating Hope,” which commemorated the Islamic tradition of Muhammad’s Night Journey to Jerusalem and the broader Muslim connection to the city, Abuirshaid addressed the shifting political landscape.
During the evening, Abuirshaid pointed directly to what he sees as fractures inside the MAGA coalition and argued those divisions show progress.
What progress exactly? Well, a weaker MAGA, especially with a stark division over Israel, is good for those who oppose the Jewish State. It becomes a divide-and-conquer strategy.
“Now, within the Democratic and the Republican Party, we see the split, we see the fractures, within what? The MAGA movement. You see the likes of Tucker Carlson, you see the likes of Candace Owens, you see the likes of Megyn Kelly, you see the likes of Steve Bannon! He’s the one who coined MAGA. Do you know what MAGA means?… Make America Great Again, right? MIGA, Make Israel Great Again. So he said, ‘Either you’re MAGA or MIGA. Choose.’”
Abuirshaid continued by pointing to tensions among conservative personalities and pro-Israel voices. “So he (Steve Bannon) accuses people like Ben Shapiro and who? Mark Levin, who he calls Mark Tel Aviv Levin, that’s what he calls him. These cracks are happening, so now, for those who continue to question, is our work paying off? I’m telling you, it is.”
That last line may have been the most significant because the concern is no longer simply a disagreement over Gaza, aid packages or foreign policy. The concern is whether divisions over Israel are now becoming a tool used to fracture one of Israel’s strongest political support bases in America.
BREAKING: A leader in the Muslim Brotherhood openly admits in New Jersey how they succeeded in dividing MAGA and the opportunity for victory to Islam in America.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) May 21, 2026
They’re not even hiding it anymore. pic.twitter.com/ZISpsc9miB
Abuirshaid also made clear that, in his view, the movement’s work was only beginning.
“Is it where we want it to be? No, it’s not. Is it where it should be? No, it’s not. Are we able to get there? Yes, we are. Because Allah is providing evidence to us that your struggle is paying off, that your voices is making a difference.”
He argued, however, that progress would require continued hardship and sacrifice.
“But it comes with what? It comes with sacrifices. It comes with hardships. It’s the same as Surah Al-Isra. You want the victory in the first and second round? It has to come with a sacrifice. It has to come with struggle.”
Abuirshaid then connected those themes to the current political divisions inside the United States.
“Today we’re afforded another opportunity. America now is being divided.”
When contacted by ALL ISRAEL NEWS, Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch reacted sharply.
“This indicates that those who have been warning about the Muslim Brotherhood wanting to destroy America from within were right all along: this man lives in America but he is no patriot. He is rejoicing over America being divided,” he said.
Spencer sees the comments as evidence that some activists view political fragmentation in America as a strategic opportunity:
“It also shows the damage that the woke right antisemites have done. They have given aid and comfort to those who would destroy America as a free society, as they have weakened the only force that stands between our nation and destruction from within.”
There has long been controversy surrounding American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). The organization has faced scrutiny from some pro-Israel groups, lawmakers, and watchdog organizations over alleged ideological ties and connections to individuals associated with earlier Palestinian advocacy networks in the United States.
AMP has denied supporting terrorism, maintaining that it advocates for Palestinian rights and free speech.
Still, critics argue the organization has repeatedly aligned itself with activists and causes that Jewish organizations describe as crossing the line from anti-Israel activism into antisemitism.
Opponents point to support for aggressive anti-Zionist campaigns, protests targeting Jewish institutions, rhetoric surrounding Israel’s legitimacy, and activists connected to “resistance” narratives that many Jewish leaders view as deeply troubling.
Abuirshaid himself has frequently been a vocal critic of Israel and Zionism, placing him at the center of a wider debate over where anti-Israel advocacy ends and antisemitism begins – a debate that has only intensified since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities and subsequent war in Gaza.
David Brody is a senior contributor for ALL ISRAEL NEWS. He is a 38-year Emmy Award veteran of the television industry and continues to serve as Chief Political Analyst for CBN News/The 700 Club, a role he has held for 23 years. David is the author of two books including, “The Faith of Donald Trump” and has been cited as one of the top 100 influential evangelicals in America by Newsweek Magazine. He’s also been listed as one of the country’s top 15 political power players in the media by Adweek Magazine.
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