Does Mandy Patinkin Support Israel?

Noa Cohen Feb 19, 2025 Updated Jul 28, 2026 3 min read

Short answer: As of July 2026, Mandy Patinkin does not support Israel's current government or its conduct of the Gaza war. He is Jewish, proudly so, and has deep progressive ties to Israel (he has served on the board of Americans for Peace Now and has advocated for a two-state solution for decades), but he is a sharp critic of settlement expansion, West Bank annexation, and, since mid-2025, of Israel's war in Gaza, which he called "unconscionable." He is best described as a left-wing, dovish, peace-camp Jewish American public figure who is critical of Israeli government policy while remaining rooted in Jewish identity.

What Mandy Patinkin has actually said and done

1998: Patinkin declined an invitation to a Hollywood tribute marking Israel's 50th anniversary, saying "I would love to participate but I feel like my hands are tied," citing opposition to the Israeli government's approach to the peace process at the time, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
July 1, 2020: Patinkin narrated a video for the New Israel Fund opposing West Bank annexation, saying annexation "is a disaster for Israelis and Palestinians" and "threatens Palestinian rights and formalizes an unjust and unequal system," as reported by the Times of Israel and confirmed by JTA. The same Times of Israel piece notes that Patinkin "has long been involved in progressive Israel advocacy, which has included sitting on the board of the nonprofit Americans for Peace Now," the U.S. affiliate of the Israeli peace movement that advocates a two-state solution and opposes settlement expansion. Peace Now's own leadership page lists Patinkin among its board members as of this writing.
Mid-July 2025: In an interview with The New York Times magazine's "The Interview" series (published around July 12, 2025), Patinkin condemned Israel's conduct of the Gaza war, saying, "To watch what is happening, for the Jewish people to allow this to happen to children and civilians of all ages in Gaza, for whatever reason, is unconscionable and unthinkable," and asking, "How could it be done to you and your ancestors, and you turn around and you do it to someone else?" His wife, actress Kathryn Grody, joined him and said compassion for Palestinians in Gaza "is very Jewish," rejecting the charge of antisemitism, as reported by the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem Post.
Late July 2025, aftermath: The comments drew sharp backlash from pro-Israel commentators. Influencer Dahlia Kurtz said Patinkin had gone "full-blown suicidal Jew" in a post that drew around 100,000 views, and psychologist Barry Tigay accused him of a "blood libel" and "Holocaust inversion against the Jews." The remarks also drew substantial public support, including on a repost by The New York Times' TikTok account, according to the Times of Israel.

His Jewish identity, separate from his politics

Patinkin was raised in a Conservative Jewish family on Chicago's South Side. As a child he was a soloist in his synagogue's children's choir, and his Hebrew school principal recalled that he was drawn even then to activities involving davening, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. His given name, Mandel Bruce Patinkin, is the source of his nickname "Mandy." He has described theater as his personal "synagogue," a framing that runs through decades of interviews. That grounding matters for reading his Israel commentary correctly: his criticism targets specific government policies, namely settlements, annexation, and the conduct of the Gaza war, not Israel's existence as a state. No reporting found here shows him supporting a boycott of Israel, refusing to work with Israeli institutions, or disavowing his Jewish identity. He has also not been reported praising the current Israeli government or defending settlement policy. His public record places him squarely in the dovish, two-state wing of American Jewish opinion, a real and long-running current within Jewish communal life, not outside it.

The bottom line

Mandy Patinkin supports Israel's existence and is proudly, publicly Jewish, but he does not support Israel's current government, its settlement and annexation policies, or its conduct of the Gaza war, which he has criticized in increasingly blunt terms through at least mid-2025. He belongs to the dovish, two-state, peace-camp wing of American Jewish opinion on Israel, a position reflected in his long-running board role with Americans for Peace Now, not to pro-government or pro-settlement Israel advocacy.

Wear your own answer

Wherever a public figure lands, your own support for Israel does not have to be complicated. A piece from our Support Israel collection, like the Israeli flag for your home or desk, is a simple, visible way to say where you stand, especially when the headlines get noisy.

Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.