History will not be kind to the presidency of Joseph Biden when it evaluates his administration’s handling of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. At best, his response will be judged weak and feckless. At worst, he will be seen as enabling of or even complicitous in the crimes committed.
Examples of both the fecklessness and complicity abound. Here are just a few examples:
On April 4 of this year, the New York Times ran a story under the headline: “President Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that future U.S. support ‘will be determined’ by how Israel treats civilians in Gaza.” The story noted that:
President Biden threatened on Thursday to condition future support for Israel on how it addresses his concerns about civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, prompting Israel to commit to permitting more food and other supplies into the besieged enclave in hopes of placating him.
During a tense 30-minute call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Mr. Biden for the first-time leveraged U.S. aid to influence the conduct of the war against Hamas that has inflamed many Americans and others around the world.
After the call, Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented “If we don’t see the changes we need to see, there’ll be changes in policy.”
That was seven and one-half months ago. During the intervening months, 12,000 more Palestinians have been killed in schools, hospitals, and mosques where they sought safety. Crowded tent sites of desperate refugees have been bombed and Israel has continued to block deliveries of humanitarian aid. The administration’s “threat” was for naught.
Then on October 13, Secretary Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin wrote to the Israeli government expressing their concern with the “dire” humanitarian situation in Gaza, citing the isolation of the northern part of the territory, repeated evacuation orders, the blocking of humanitarian assistance, targeting aid workers, and a range of other Israeli policies that have had an adverse impact on Palestinians. They said that the U.S. was giving Israel 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation and protection of civilians in Gaza or face unstated consequences.
After Democrats lost elections in November, some commentators assumed that now facing no political pressures, President Biden might use his remaining time in office to make some bold moves to address the crisis in Gaza that could challenge both Netanyahu and the incoming Trump administration. But four actions taken by the Biden administration during the past week demonstrate that such hopes were in vain.
As the one-month deadline given by the Blinken/Austin letter approached, U.S. and international aid groups and officials within the Biden administration charged with humanitarian matters communicated to the Secretaries that the situation in Gaza had worsened, shipments of food, water, and medicines remained intolerably inadequate, aid workers were still being threatened, and there was impending famine. With winter approaching, they warned the humanitarian crisis would only grow more desperate. Nevertheless, on November 12, the U.S. issued what was seen as a delusional passing grade to Israel for “improvements” in Gaza.
On November 20, after months of negotiations on a new United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution, the U.S. issued yet another veto, stymieing the international community’s efforts to end the war. As disturbing as the veto may have been, even more troubling was the patently false reason for it. They claimed that they opposed the resolution because it failed to call for an immediate release of Israeli hostages, ignoring the fact that the resolution specifically calls for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages.”
Also on November 20, the U.S. Senate voted on three separate bills opposing billions in U.S. weapons to Israel. The senators supporting these bills argued that supplying these weapons was in clear violation of U.S. laws restricting such shipments when the recipient country uses them to put the lives of civilians at risk or to impede humanitarian assistance. Ignoring the factual basis of the charges and evidence of violations of U.S. laws, the White House issued “talking points” to senators charging that “Disapproving arms purchases for Israel at this moment would…put wind on the sails of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas.” It was deeply troubling that the White House would stoop to “Hamas-baiting” leading senators of their own party.
And then on November 21, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant charging them with being criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution, and starvation as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza.” In response, President Biden issued a statement denouncing the decision saying that the “arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous…We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
And so, it appears that President Biden will end his term without a change of heart or policy. In just the last month, he rejected multiple opportunities to distance himself from Israeli policies. Because he rejected each of them, he will “own” this war. It will be his legacy.
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