Joe Biden, the last pro-Israel?

Will Joe Biden be the last Democratic president to firmly back Israel? It's the question that many Jews and Israelis will be asking themselves right now. Given the crucial importance of the alliance with the United States to Israel, the response to it entails important strategic decisions.

To the gallery, Biden's management is impeccable. In fact, more than impeccable: he was the first American president to travel to Israel at a time of war. In his remarks, Biden has repeatedly and categorically stated his support for the Israeli military operation, refraining from mentioning the possibility of a ceasefire and only timidly conceding that Israel must take Gaza's humanitarian needs into account. Meanwhile, the White House has publicized the shipment of military equipment and advisers to Israel. To top it off, Biden has ordered the deployment of two fleets to the region to deter Hezbollah and Iran from a possible surprise attack while Israel is focused on eliminating Hamas in Gaza. Basically, Biden has pledged the assistance of U.S. ships and fighter jets in the event of a direct and large-scale entry of Hezbollah or Iran into the conflict.

Learn more

Follow live updates on the war in Gaza

Privately, Biden's efforts are more complex than they might seem at first glance. To begin with, while he reiterates to the media Israel's right to defend itself, in his closed-door meetings and telephone conversations with the Israeli Government he asserts quite different things. In these low-key communications, Biden pushes to delay or cancel the ground offensive in Gaza. At the same time, U.S. military advisers try to dissuade their Israeli counterparts from a ground operation by pointing out all its disadvantages. Finally, the White House leaks to the press the opinion of analysts and generals of the US government against an invasion of Gaza. Biden, in short, more than a carte blanche, is giving Netanyahu a bear hug.

However, this is all part of the usual tensions between the US presidents and Israel. Washington has never offered unwavering support for Israel's military operations. Bitter debates between Israelis and Americans have been common in times of crisis. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon was a headache for Ronald Reagan, just as the Second Intifada was for George W. Bush. The U.S. has always pressured Israel to limit the ambition of its military plans, shorten their duration, and limit their scope and intensity.

The issue is not so much Biden's dual role in this conflict, but the reaction to it by associations, politicians and organizations in the United States. It is at this point that one perceives most clearly that the winds are changing. If you look at the demonstrations, this is the first time that hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of the United States to unequivocally (and exclusively) support Palestine (and, indirectly, Hamas). There are about five million Muslims in the United States. It is the fastest growing religion in the country, and the number of adherents will double in the coming decades. The presence of Arabs and Muslims in the organs of power and the media is becoming more and more common. Also in the movies: Disney last year introduced the first series with a Muslim superhero, Ms. Marvel. This is a recent phenomenon. Also influencing is the fact that several Iranian and Arab lobbies have been consolidated in Washington that compete with the Jews.

But the presence of Muslims or the better organization of the Arab community are not enough to explain the massive turnout for demonstrations in (tacit) support for Hamas' actions. What is certain is that the American left (especially its younger members) is experiencing a turn on this issue. We have here the manifesto signed by more than 33 student associations at Harvard that blames Israel for the October 7 massacre. Despite the controversy, both the Harvard Chancellor's Office and the deans of the faculties remained silent. Demonstrations, rallies and communiqués in favor of Palestine soon spread to the campuses of Columbia, Arizona, Indiana, California, Chapel Hill... The most striking thing is that in the slogans and manifestos there was not the slightest consideration for the Israeli victims, while the slogans of support for the Palestinians were of a radicalism until now associated with Islamist groups, terrorists and regimes such as Iran: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!" The implication of this statement is that one no longer advocates the existence of two states and the coexistence of Palestinians and Israelis. By shouting it, one advocates the establishment of a single Palestinian state that would end the existence of the State of Israel and lead to the expulsion of the Jews. By hanging posters extolling the Hamas terror attack, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has not lagged behind in embracing extremism in the face of the crisis in Israel. On the posters of the BLM movement, Hamas terrorists are presented as liberators and their attacks as exploits.

In Washington, 411 congressional staffers signed an open letter denouncing the pro-Israel attitude of the congressmen (their bosses). They claim that, as descendants "of survivors of slavery, the Holocaust, colonialism, war and oppression," they feel the need to denounce Israel's atrocities in Gaza. At the State Department, Secretary Antony Blinken has been forced to calm the tempers of officials following the resignation of a senior official in protest at Biden's pro-Israel policy. It was feared that dozens of department officials were preparing a letter to make public their disagreement with government policy. Something similar has happened in the White House itself, where Jake Sullivan was forced to summon National Security Council staff to a meeting, described as "tense", to calm tempers and respond to their complaints. The White House has also organized "listening sessions" in which Muslim and/or Arab officials can express their frustrations with the administration's policy and propose alternatives. Finally, the presence of the Squadron in the House of Representatives should not be forgotten. Composed of eight congressmen led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib (the latter two Muslim), the Squad is still a radical and minority faction within the Democratic Party. But it is striking that the party's leaders and their more moderate comrades systematically refrain from openly confronting the radical positions of the Squadron. They know that the rank and file of the party, and especially its younger members, are sympathetic to the attitude of the group.

Biden and the current Democratic administration continue the pattern established since the presidency of John F. Kennedy, but those who will one day take over from them show a very different attitude. The universities, the hotbed of future political, economic and cultural elites, have revealed themselves as factories for left-wing extremists. The issue of Israel and Palestine was not to be an exception in this indoctrination. In the not-too-distant future, it is not unthinkable to imagine a Democratic administration that will not only be more lukewarm in its support for Israel, but perhaps resolutely pro-Palestinian.

Javier Gil Guerrero is a researcher at the Institute of Culture and Society of the University of Navarra.

Subscribe to continue reading

Read without limits

Read more

I'm already a subscriber

_