Joe Kent, Trump’s chief of counterterrorism, resigned his post this week on the basis that Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran was made “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby” and that he “cannot in good conscience” support it. He has since gone on a bit of a media tour across right-wing podcasts, repeating different versions of the same claim.

The Anti-Defamation League responded by saying that Kent was trafficking in antisemitic tropes, presumably by suggesting that Israel was manipulating the United States behind the scenes. The ADL’s ability to accurately diagnose antisemitism is more than a little questionable, but in this case they’re probably on to something. Joe Kent is most certainly an antisemite, having cozied up to various neo-Nazis within the right-wing media ecosystem. His resignation letter ascribes no agency to Trump, portraying him only as the victim of Israeli manipulation and misinformation. It also claims that the United States was drawn into the 2003 Iraq War by Israel, an argument that if not inherently antisemitic can be filed away under “things only an antisemite would believe.”

Kent’s rancid politics aside, it’s worth looking at the central claim on its merits. It is without question that the Israeli government played a role in launching the war on Iran. This isn’t conspiracism or fearmongering, it’s just a fact. Shortly after the war began, there was extensive reporting that Netanyahu (alongside Saudi leadership, although the Saudis dispute this) was pushing Trump to attack. The Washington Post reported it. Axios reported that Netanyahu provided Trump with the intelligence that would underpin the initial strikes on Iranian leadership.

Trump officials and allies have functionally admitted all of this. Early in the war, Marco Rubio stated that the precipitating factor for America’s engagement was an imminent Israeli attack on Iran, before walking it back by saying he was taken out of context. Senator Lindsey Graham, maybe the most prolific Iran hawk of our time, said that he coached Netanyahu on how to best convince Trump to attack.

Did America attack Iran “due to” Israeli pressure? Not exactly, but the Israelis played a key role nonetheless. The obvious reality is that blame doesn't really need to be allocated between America and Israel. Neither would have gone to war without the support of the other. Each is load-bearing. 

And so we are confronted with what has in the past few years become an increasingly familiar dilemma. If you assign Israel too much power and agency, you veer into antisemitic tropes. If you don’t assign it enough, you will simply be wrong.