Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israeli citizens placed US President Joe Biden in a political vice. Biden was under immense anti-Israel pressure from left-wing Democrats and the media. From influential progressives and Hollywood to MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post, we heard a constant anti-Israel drumbeat. Just to take a single example from among many, 500 former Biden campaign staffers published a letter demanding the president get tough with Israel.
Left-wing Democrats leverage and impact the Biden administration agenda at every level. Intersectionality, white privilege ideology, and a social and racial justice doctrine are predominant throughout today’s Democratic Party.
The Jewish state finds itself viewed – and judged – through a racial justice ideological prism. Israelis, they argue, are white colonists who occupy people of color and stole their land, too. Israel is an “apartheid” state, the mainstream media routinely alleges, sometimes subtly, sometimes boldly. It doesn’t matter that their version of events is ahistorical, inaccurate, and ignorant drivel. It’s the new progressive Democratic Party ideology.
The Biden administration is larded with anti-Israel zealots anxious to upend the political dynamic in the Middle East. And Biden administration policy regularly reflects this new left-wing political attitude. It’s their frame of reference.
It is true that President Biden publicly stood by Israel in the recent war with Hamas. But it was in America’s interest to be seen as a peacemaker and as having the most influence on Israel. And politically, the Biden team saw a way to turn lemons into lemonade. Make Israel pay a heavy price for Biden’s support.
Even during the action against Hamas, US backing of Israel hung on a thin thread. The most the Biden administration ever ventured was a statement that Israel has a right to defend itself.
Biden faced down considerable domestic pressure to lay the blame for the violence at the Jewish state’s feet. Having repeated their statement that Israel had a right to defend itself and prevented an anti-Israel UN Security Council vote during the conflict, payment is now due.
Here’s what will be asked of Israel.
The US will insist Israel publicly back Washington’s approach to Iran’s nuclear program. That may not be in Israel’s best interest.
Israel must not express vocal opposition to the Biden administration’s determination to restore previously cut funding to the Palestinians.
The Biden administration will emphatically tell Israel that it will brook no action it sees as undercutting efforts to advance a two-state solution.
And it will demand a stop to construction in Judea, Samaria, and east Jerusalem. Those demands would significantly impact – and perhaps undermine – Israeli security needs and domestic policy.
The US intends to “rebuild” Gaza and will make clear that it expects Israel to ease the entry of “humanitarian aid” into Gaza. Do the Americans really think the money doesn’t reach Hamas? Enabling Hamas to continue assaults on Israeli citizens is surely not in Israel’s best interest.
Will it be possible for Israeli leaders to deliver on the above items and still work closely with Biden and the Democrats to reset the US-Israel relationship on a positive footing? Efforts will be made even though the outcomes may not always be in Israel’s best interest.
President Biden’s policy has shuffled and transformed the political dynamic in the Middle East and its openly antagonistic approach to the Jewish state may prove to be an insurmountable barrier to putting a once muscular and mutually beneficial relationship back together again.