WASHINGTON – A protester remained on the Frederick Douglass Bridge on Tuesday as a multi‑day standoff entered its fifth day.

Florida activist Guido Reichstädter climbed the bridge on Friday. He said on social media he plans to come down soon, though authorities have not indicated when that might occur. He is protesting the war in Iran and calling for a global ban on artificial intelligence.

Reichstädter previously scaled the bridge in 2022 during a demonstration over the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Police said vehicle lanes on South Capitol Street in both directions remain open. Associated closures are limited to the pedestrian walkway, and officers are directing drivers through the area.

In recent years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a strategic bet: Republicans would be the more reliable partner and investing in them would be safer than trying to maintain a shrinking Democratic consensus.

This assumption proved correct in the short term. Republican support, especially under the Trump administration, remained consistent. At the same time, engagement with Democratic constituencies became more difficult and politically costly. These constituencies included American Reform and Conservative Jews who were put off by Netanyahu’s reliance on Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox partners.

However, that strategy created a long-term risk. Closer alignment with one party deepened the partisan divide and now threatens the U.S.–Israel alliance. This issue is no longer theoretical. Israel is heading toward elections this fall. The outcome will shape its U.S. strategy and influence U.S. policy toward Israel.

If the current approach continues, Israel will deepen its reliance on Republicans and further limit engagement with Democrats. This may remain sustainable in the short term, but it increases long-term risk.

A different coalition, based on today’s opposition and less dependent on Orthodox parties, could restore bipartisan engagement and rebuild ties with Democratic lawmakers, institutions, younger audiences, and liberal American Jewish communities. These communities still largely align with the Democratic Party, despite some shift after the October 7, 2023, attack and the wave of antisemitism that followed. Even then, change will be gradual. The erosion of support among Democrats reflects deeper ideological shifts that no Israeli government can quickly reverse.

U.S. security aid, once a pillar of the alliance, is now politically contested. Within segments of the Democratic Party, opposition to aid now signals progressive credibility.

Netanyahu has suggested that Israel could phase out its reliance on U.S. aid. He argues that Israel’s economic strength allows it, especially if continued aid damages public support in the United States. This reflects a broader logic: reducing dependency may help preserve the alliance’s political sustainability.

Some in Washington argue that tensions stem mainly from Netanyahu and will ease after he leaves office. This view is only partly correct.

On core issues—Iran, deterrence, and skepticism toward Palestinian statehood under current conditions—there is broad consensus across Israel’s political spectrum. A future prime minister is unlikely to change these positions in any meaningful way.

Where change could occur is in the political approach. A different leadership may invest more in bipartisan engagement and avoid alignment with one U.S. party. The policy will remain similar, but the political strategy may differ.

Israeli leaders also recognize that not the entire shift in American attitudes is organic. External actors amplify anti-Israel narratives. These include Iran, Qatar, Russia, and China. They exploit existing divisions in Western societies. This means the trajectory of the alliance depends on not only domestic politics, but also geopolitical competition.

At the same time, Israel is working to reduce certain dependencies on the United States. This includes aid, military supplies, and technologies. A more self-reliant Israel is also a more independent Israel.

Israel has shown that it can act pragmatically with other powers, including Russia and, to a more limited extent, China, when its interests require. If bipartisan support in Washington continues to erode, Israel will expand its room for maneuver. This does not mean a strategic shift away from the United States, but it does mean that a weakened alliance reduces U.S. influence and creates opportunities for competitors.

In the United States, the question is whether support for Israel remains a bipartisan strategic interest or becomes a partisan identity issue. In Israel, the question is whether leaders treat bipartisan support and ties with American Jewry as strategic assets that require continuous investment.

The alliance is resilient. But for the first time in decades, its main challenge comes from internal political dynamics on both sides. Preserving it will require deliberate choices not only in Washington, but also in Jerusalem.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article misstated the plaintiff in this case. It is the DC Preservation League, not the National Links Trust.

President Donald Trump spent Sunday at his golf course in Miami, watching Cameron Young handle poor weather and a lackluster crowd during a runaway victory at the Cadillac Championship.

Of far more intrigue was what was happening in Washington, where his administration’s attempted takeover of a public golf course in that city took its next steps.

Lawyers representing the DC Preservation League filed an emergency stay request Sunday afternoon to halt the Trump administration’s reported plans to take over the East Potomac Golf Course after Sunday.

NOTUS reported late Friday that the National Park Service will close the course and begin renovations, with one of Trump’s preferred architects, Tom Fazio, handling the work. It was news to the National Links Trust, which holds a 50-year lease with NPS to rehabilitate East Potomac and two other public courses in D.C., as well as the DC Preservation League and its legal team at Democracy Forward.

Up until Friday, the administration had maintained that no final decision had been made, “regarding the nature and scope of the renovations.”

The emergency stay is being heard in the District Court for the District of Columbia.

“Despite attestations to the court, the Trump-Vance administration appears to be moving forward aggressively to shut down DC’s largest public golf course to explore another of the president’s pet projects to benefit himself,” Skye Perryman, President and CEO at Democracy Forward, said in a statement. “We are asking the court to act urgently to save this important part of our national park system from being another casualty of a reckless administration. We are honored for the partnership of our plaintiffs in fighting back against this unlawful assault on our valued public spaces, and we are eager to argue this case.”

The emergency stay request isn’t the first legal challenge related to the administration’s plans to overhaul East Potomac Golf Links into a championship-level course.

The DC Preservation League and two area residents filed an injunction in February seeking to stop the administration from moving ahead. The lawsuit came after truckloads of dirt and debris from the White House East Wing ballroom demolition project were dumped onto the East Potomac grounds without explanation.

“The East Potomac Golf Links is a unique cultural landscape that reflects the history of recreation in the nation’s capital. Altering its historic character would undermine a site meant to be accessible to the public,” Rebecca Miller, Executive Director of DC Preservation League, said in a new release announcing the lawsuit.

The National Links Trust signed its 50-year lease with the National Parks Service in 2020 to take over management of East Potomac and its sister courses, Rock Creek and Langston. They are the best and most affordable options for D.C. residents, and NLT aimed to renovate all three.

But Trump has eyed the East Potomac property, which features sight lines to the Washington Monument on almost every hole, and began to make moves at the end of last year toward taking it back from NLT. The Department of the Interior filed a notice of termination on Dec. 31, arguing NLT has not been able to meet a renovation timeline.

NLT, for its part, has argued that it’s made steady progress, including cutting through layers of government red tape to make any changes necessary to the properties. It broke ground at Rock Creek in November.

NOTUS reported that the administration will offer NLT a renewed lease at Rock Creek. The Washington Post reported Friday that the Washington Commanders were approached about taking over Langston, which has a rich history in the city’s Black community.

NLT has still been operating the courses, including a full tee sheet Sunday at East Potomac, and is hoping to mediate and find a solution that could work for everyone involved.