Biden, Netanyahu’s Hostage
Biden’s Uncertainty in the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Biden, Netanyahu’s Hostage: It is clear that Joe Biden, the President of the United States, shows hesitation in addressing the Gaza crisis due to personal and political considerations. Many political analysts and experts believe that there is only one leader who can stop the brutal killings in Gaza. Only one person can initiate the resolution process of the Israel-Palestine conflict, which he himself announced to the world, the President of the United States.
But Joe Biden seems hesitant. He allows Bibi Netanyahu to play and mock him, which enables the Israeli Prime Minister to undermine America’s credibility and interests in the region and across the world.
By limiting himself to mild verbal opposition, he takes no specific action to prevent Netanyahu from destroying the project of establishing an independent Palestinian state or planning an attack on Rafah, which means an attack by the region’s most powerful and advanced army, and among the top in the world, on a tent city with 1.3 million refugees suffering from severe food shortages.
Global public opinion has increasingly isolated Israel, and if the horrific massacre by Hamas on October 7 is forgotten, it is because Israel has also committed horrific acts in Gaza over the past few months, which are no less than what Hamas did. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic Majority Leader, who happens to be a New York Jew, has asked Israelis to vote and remove Netanyahu along with his extremist government.
Instead, Biden grumbles under his breath and seems to be pursuing a policy of appeasement. On one hand, he sends humanitarian aid to Palestinians, and on the other, he plans to supply weapons to Israelis, which is precisely why Palestinians need humanitarian aid.
The Reason for Biden’s Hesitation
There are two reasons for Joe Biden’s hesitation and uncertainty, one personal and the other electoral. Aaron Miller, an American negotiator in the peace process in the 1990s, writes that no other president has repeatedly described themselves as a Zionist. None of the White House residents have said that if Israel didn’t exist, it would need to be invented.
From Golda Meir, the Israeli politician who was Prime Minister from 1969 to 1974, the first and only female head of government in the Middle East until Tansu Çiller became Prime Minister of Turkey in 1993 onward, Joe Biden has met with all the prime ministers. He fell in love with Israel and its heroic narrative from the start of his career as a senator in 1973.
Over time, many lost this enchantment, and Israel’s allure faded for many, but not for Joe Biden. When relations between Barack Obama and Netanyahu were strained, Biden, as Vice President, continued to strive for an impossible reconciliation, despite Bibi announcing the expansion of some Jewish settlements shortly after his visit to Israel.
The second reason is electoral. In the Democratic primaries in Michigan, a key state for presidential victory, Arab-American voters abstained. Of course, they cannot compete in terms of numbers, resources, and presence in many major states with the Jewish community. According to the latest Pew Research Center poll in Washington, 62% support Biden and 21% support Donald Trump. Among minorities, only African American Protestants support and agree with Biden.
Historically, the Jewish vote is Democratic because they lean liberal on civil rights, abortion, racial issues, and minorities. However, there is a deep connection with Israel, regardless of who governs it, and this is something Biden shares and does not want to question.
The decline in popularity among American Muslims, especially young people in universities, is serious, but whatever action Biden takes and whatever decision he makes, their vote will never go to Donald Trump. However, if Israel becomes isolated, the Jewish community could change its mind. Trump, with his traditional rhetorical tone, announced that Jews who vote for Democrats hate their religion and Israel; they should be ashamed.
Almost every day, Joe Biden publicly states this reality: many innocent people are in trouble, suffering, and dying. This killing must stop. Time passes, but unlike previous U.S. presidents, he takes no action to curb Israel’s dangerous ambitions, like the Eisenhower administration in 1956, Ronald Reagan in 1982 in Lebanon, and George H. W. Bush in 1992 in the occupied territories.
Only one vote other than a veto in the United Nations Security Council or the suspension of military aid to Netanyahu’s government could make a difference and stop the unbearable increasing humanitarian disaster in Gaza.