Former Middle East negotiator for the State Department Martin Indyk has expressed concern that US Jews are withdrawing their support for Israel.

In a Yom Kippur address at Washington DC's Adas Israel Conservative synagogue, Mr Indyk said that, while US support was "the bedrock that Israel has always relied on, I worry that it is crumbling".

Mr Indyk partially blamed the Democrats for the shifting view of Israel.

"Support amongst Republicans for Israel is really high. But the truth is that most Jews are Democrats, and among Democrats, support for Israel is only something like 43 per cent. That's a huge gap, which is indicative of the fact that it has become a partisan issue."

The veteran peace negotiator also attacked Israel for its "hubris" in thinking that "we don't need the US any more".

Mr Indyk said: "I see something which I'm really, really disturbed by, which is the total disrespect on the part of some on the right in Israel for the relationship with the US.

"Look to the [Israeli] Defence Minister, whose budget is supplemented to the tune of $3bn dollars a year by the American taxpayer, standing up and calling the Secretary of State an obsessive messianic… It's disrespect."