Jim Hartman
President Joe Biden’s speech Oct. 10 expressed steadfast support for Israel after the brutal massacre of 1,400 innocent Israelis three days earlier.
The speech won bipartisan approval when he declared the slaughter by Hamas terrorists an act of “pure unadulterated evil.”
There was an initial forceful response. The Pentagon ordered two aircraft carrier strike groups, with fighter jets, to the Middle East as Israel prepared to expand its Gaza operations.
But, less than a week after Israel launched a ground campaign in Gaza, Biden suddenly started talking about “a pause” in Israel’s operation to root out Hamas.
It brought to mind one of Margaret Thatcher’s most memorable quotes, her admonition to President George H.W. Bush after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait: “Remember, George, this is no time to go wobbly.”
In fact, Biden’s “pause” comment on Oct. 30 marked the beginning of his “going wobbly” in support of Israel.
Soon thereafter the White House and Secretary of State took up the idea and called for multiple, regular “pauses.”
The official policy line was that the pauses were simply necessary to get more hostages (including Americans that Hamas refused to let leave) out of Gaza and more relief supplies in.
Not so.
Relief was already getting into Gaza. The main problem was Hamas not allowing it to go where needed and actually restricting how much came via the Rafah crossing from Egypt.
And, the terrorists learned that by holding onto the hostages they could get the Israelis to freeze their assault. That’s why they took the hostages in the first place.
Biden’s motives were largely political. Democrats are freaking out because a principled stand might cost him Michigan (with many Arab-American voters) next November.
The Hamas attack exposed deep divisions within the Democratic Party on Israel.
The old Democratic Party of strong support for Israel, represented by Biden and other senior figures, no longer dominates. To a striking extent they are being challenged by a younger generation of politicians who hate Israel.
This next generation is exemplified by members of “the Squad.” They are Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.); Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.); Rep. IIhan Omar (D-Minn.); Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.); and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.).
“Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people,” Tlaib charged on a video, one of many such claims by Israel’s enemies.
Twenty-two Democrats joined Republicans to censure Tlaib “for promoting false narratives” and “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”
The hard-left in Congress on Israel is supported in the streets by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). In this state, DSA “comrades” took control of the entire Nevada Democratic Party leadership in 2021 (termed out in 2023).
Leaders of the DSA, on a national and local level, have been prominent in blaming Israel for Hamas’ actions, and emphatic in describing Israel as an “apartheid state.”
Democrats never expected hatred of Jews to be a part of its coalition. Now it is.
Nine days after the attack, 13 far-left Democrats in Congress submitted a resolution urging Biden to “immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and cease-fire to urgently end the current violence.” Meaning: victory for Hamas.
Some Senate Democrats now want unspecified “conditions” be placed on Israel. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) insists Israel is guilty of “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza and their actions must be reined in.
Biden should pay attention to how many states he risks losing by undercutting Israel and micromanaging their right to act in self-defense.
The vast majority of Americans support Israel.
Eighty percent of voters said they supported Israel amid the ongoing war with Hamas, according to a November Harvard/CAPS-Harris Poll.
Israel deserves U.S. support. There should be no more vacillating, equivocating, dithering or political correctness.
Let our ally Israel win.
E-mail Jim Hartman at lawdocman1@aol.com.