Modi has a very bitter historical experience, the people alone will dwell convinced that it is only a matter of time before Biden issues us a red card. On Tuesday evening, when the US president was quoted as saying that Israel was "losing the support of the world because of indiscriminate bombings," adding that "Netanyahu has to make difficult decisions," the moment of truth seemed to be coming.
Reuters
However, a careful examination of the president's remarks revealed that they were completely taken out of context. In fact, Biden conveyed the opposite message to the one attributed to him. The blame, by the way, lies with one of the White House correspondents.
For although he criticized the composition of the right-wing government, there was nothing new in his remarks. These are the same statements he has made since Netanyahu's victory a year ago. In this respect, the war neither raised nor lowered. As for international support for Israel, Biden said it was just beginning to decline, and not as quoted. This is how it is presented in the full White House transcript.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden, October 2023, Photo: Miriam Elster/Flash 90
More importantly, the context of this sentence was exactly the opposite, because the president emphasized that "this time it is not only the United States that supports Israel. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has the majority of the world that supports it. But they are beginning to lose support for the indiscriminate bombing that is taking place." This was the original sentence, and it sounded completely different from what was initially advertised.
Above all, the central axis of Biden's statements was that U.S. support for Israel and the cause of the war was unreserved.
US President Biden lighting candles for Hanukkah, photo: AFP
Both in a conversation with donors and at all Hanukkah celebrations, Biden emphasized that "this [war] is an existential threat to Israel – to its very existence. Israel has a difficult decision to make. Bibi has a difficult decision. There is no question about the need to deal with Hamas. This is indisputable. No. Nothing. They have every right... But in the meantime, we don't intend to do anything but defend Israel in the process. Nothing else."
Another statement along these lines: "There is much more to do. First and foremost, to do everything in our power to hold Hamas responsible. They are animals. They are animals. They exceeded everything every other terrorist group has done lately that I can remember. No one, no one, no one on God's Green Earth can justify what Hamas has done. They are a cruel, ugly, inhuman people, and they must be eliminated."
Gives a warm hug, but returns to the dangerous conception. Biden, photo: gives a warm hug, but returns to the dangerous concept. Biden
So in that respect, Biden is with us. And not just in words, but in a constant airlift of armaments, including some bureaucratic and other detours, so that the loaded planes will continue to land here.
The gap, therefore, is not on the militaristic side but on the humanitarian side. Here Biden is making it very difficult, both in demanding supplies, and especially in the pressure on fuel. These measures both help Hamas's military effort and show the public that it still owns the goods that enter – that is, it has not yet collapsed. If there is a problem with Biden, it is confined to this contradiction.
Full column tomorrow in "Israel This Week"
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