Biden needs Netanyahu who needs Trump.
While many Democrats are truly well-intentioned, their foreign policies and general views of other countries are typically more aligned with idealism that is irrelevant in the Middle East.
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For the sake of brevity, there are two types of people when it comes to pondering politics.
There are the theorists, who constantly compare the reality of politics to ideals, morals, and virtues.
And then there are those who subscribe to realpolitik, a system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations.
Regarding the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war, the reality is that U.S. President Joe Biden “needs” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who in turn “needs” former U.S. president and Biden’s adversary in the upcoming presidential election, Donald Trump, back in the White House.
From day one (October 7th), Biden’s administration has leveraged the (obvious) idea that Israel can and must defend itself, in order to retain Jewish voters and political donations for his Democratic Party.
This is not a criticism of Biden — you and I would probably do the same thing if we were in his shoes — but we ought to be honest about Biden’s intentions. He, and no other non-Jewish and non-Israeli politician, supports Israel exclusively from the bottom of their heart. Let’s not forget that politicians are incredibly self-interested people because they effectively have to be if they want to keep winning elections.
The other reality is that the Biden administration’s public management of the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war has been nothing short of disastrous, mainly because they have been both-sides-ing it for several months, starting in October (just a couple of weeks after October 7th).
The Biden administration has domestic political reasons for both-sides-ing this war — again, you and I would probably do the same thing if we were in their shoes — such as appeasing the significant “progressive” anti-Israel base in the Democratic Party, and trying to court Arab and Muslim American voters.
But the fact is: We don’t hear the Biden administration both-sides-ing the Ukraine/Russia war, for example. They unapologetically place all blame on Russia (perhaps rightfully so) because it invaded Ukraine, just as Hamas led an invasion of Israel on October 7th.
My view on this has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans or the Green Party; if you do not want countries (or territories) invading each other, at least be consistent about it. Applying a gross double-standard makes the Biden administration lose credibility in the eyes of Israelis (both politicians and everyday citizens), non-Israeli Zionists, and perhaps others.
The Biden administration is not stupid, though; they know that their management of the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war has not been stellar, which is why they have been aggressively pushing a ceasefire and hostage deal that would (hopefully, in their eyes) end this war for good.
Like most other Israelis and Zionists, I am in favor of a (temporary) ceasefire and hostage deal, but the terms should be advantageous to Israel — which is, after all, an American ally. And one of the most beneficial American allies at that.
But a few months ago, it was reported that the United States gave Hamas verbal assurances, behind Israel’s back, that the U.S. will not allow Israel to resume this war once an initial ceasefire and hostage deal takes effect.
Then, last week, a Hamas representative confirmed this report to The Associated Press, saying that the terror group received “verbal commitments and guarantees” from mediators that the war will not be resumed and that negotiations will continue until a permanent ceasefire is reached.
Following this interview, Netanyahu sent Mossad chief David Barnea to Doha to inform Qatari mediators that Israel rejects Hamas’ demand for a written commitment from mediators that the negotiations regarding the second phase of the ceasefire can extend indefinitely if needed.
And, on Sunday, ahead of the Israeli negotiating team’s departure for further hostage deal talks in Egypt and Qatar this week, Netanyahu presented a list of what he said were four non-negotiable Israeli demands, including a guarantee that Israel could resume fighting, which would need to be met in any hostage release and ceasefire deal with Hamas.
This is bad news for Biden, not because it keeps him awake at night knowing that the hostages are still experiencing unfathomable conditions in the Islamist fortress known as Gaza, but because he is pining to parade such a deal around the United States as a feather in his political cap — while the upcoming presidential election looms large.
Let’s not forget that this man is a professional politician. Sure, he will be happy for the five American hostages and their families and the other hostages and their families, but that is a far, far, far second to his primary calculus of taking political credit if and when a deal happens.
And boy does Biden and his administration need as much credit as they can get right about now. After his dismal performance in the presidential debate two weeks ago, no less the clear and obvious signs that he is unfit to remain in the White House (because he is objectively old and losing it), Biden is desperate for any political points they can rack up.
So too is his vice president, Kamala Harris, who could very well succeed Biden on the ballot for president if Joe decides to retire. Hence why, when Netanyahu and Biden spoke on the phone last week to review a response from Hamas to the latest Israeli peace proposal, it was reported that Harris joined the call to portray a “united front” to Netanyahu and his staff.
Netanyahu, also a professional politician, is keenly aware of the Biden administration’s troubles and their urgency to get a deal done with Hamas, even if it means throwing Israel under the bus. And this wouldn’t be the first time that Biden’s administration treats Israel as anything but one of the most beneficial American allies.
To name a few instances:
They have repeatedly quoted overwhelmingly phony Hamas casualty numbers as rationale for making certain decisions
They built a “humanitarian pier” that the Palestinians did not want and the Americans cannot figure out how to operate, and then tasked Israel with defending it.
They have been randomly sanctioning Israelis because it scores points with Arab and Muslim Americans.
And, as I said, they gave Hamas verbal assurances, behind Israel’s back, that the U.S. will not allow Israel to resume this war once an initial ceasefire and hostage deal takes effect.
The problem (for the Biden administration) is, the majority of Israelis do not want an end to this war until Hamas is removed from governing power in Gaza and replaced with a group that will not try to pull off another October 7th, or the like. Naturally, Netanyahu knows this — and expecting him to act against the wishes of the majority of Israelis is plainly stupid.
Thus, one could rather easily make the argument that Netanyahu has been trying to elongate this war because, among other reasons, he presumes that a Donald Trump White House would be more favorable to Israel’s war aims.
I happen to agree with Netanyahu on this point, not necessarily because I like Donald Trump (I’m not his biggest fan), but because Trump’s administration was far “friendlier” to Israel. Which, again, is exactly how it should be since, again, Israel is one of America’s most beneficial allies.
And it’s not like Biden’s administration was Israel’s bestie before October 7th. Going back to the Obama years, during which Biden was Vice President, much of the Democratic Party has demonstrably become more and more anti-Israel, holding the Jewish state to ridiculous double-standards that they expect of no other country.
What’s more, we should ask ourselves why Obama went out of his way to coddle and court Qatar, a key funder of ISIS and Hamas — you know, modern nihilistic death cults dedicated to the killing of Christians, Gays, and Jews — and why Biden seems to be doing the same.
In 2014, Obama even got behind Hamas’ right to exist and keep its arsenal intact during another war that the terror group provoked with Israel back then.1 More curiously, he subsequently sent his Secretary of State, John Kerry, off to cavort with the Qatari and Turkish foreign ministers in Paris — which incensed Israeli ministers, the Egyptians, and the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the time.
And the Obama administration pressed for the Qatari government to remain a chief broker in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process despite the country’s longstanding financial support for Hamas.2
Of course, many in the crowd will point to the “record-breaking” $38-billion military aid package for Israel that Obama signed into effect in 2016 before he left office, but what they don’t know (or won’t tell you) is that all U.S. military aid to Israel — other than loan guarantees — is comprised of credits that go directly from the Pentagon to U.S. weapons manufacturers.
In return, this U.S. aid undermines Israel’s domestic defense industry, weakens its economy, and compromises the country’s autonomy — giving Washington, D.C. serious leverage over Israel’s diplomatic and military strategies, which is what we have been witnessing on full display since October 7th.
To add insult to injury, many of the (anti-Israel) people who were part of the Obama administrations have been working for that of Biden during his current presidency.
On the other hand, Trump’s administration moved the U.S. embassy to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, and spearheaded the highly successful Abraham Accords. Whether or not you agree with these geopolitical moves, and even if you absolutely despise Trump, both of these moves were objectively beneficial to Israel, just as Israel has done very beneficial work for the United States (regardless of who is president).
Because that is what strong allies do for each other.
And yet, much of the Democratic Party as we know it today, in 2024, does not seem to be treating Israel with the same dignity and respect. Never mind the fact that virtually no one on the Left has provided a single pragmatic solution to this Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war that, as one of our guest writers so brilliantly put it, “does not amount to Israel willingly exposing its throat to those who would gladly cut it.”
One major mistake that many Democrats make regarding Israel is that they judge the Jewish state through an American lens. And they assume that liberalism in America should look exactly the same as liberalism in Israel. Since Israel does not precisely fit this mold — spoiler: it never will — they endlessly scold the Jewish state, instead of being self-aware about their faulty perceptions about different countries in different parts the world.
Like every country, Israel is fair game for criticisms and critiques, but they ought to be levied within the context of Israel’s geopolitical and historical circumstances and nuances. And for those who do not want to take the time and energy to learn about geopolitical and historical circumstances and nuances, that is perfectly fine; but maybe, just maybe, they should refrain from offering their criticisms and critiques.
Just like most people wouldn’t welcome complicated medical advice from someone who is not a doctor, nurse, or the like.
Hence why someone like Netanyahu and many other Israeli politicians have a hard time dealing with Democratic politicians. While many Democrats are truly well-intentioned, their foreign policies and general views of other countries are typically more aligned with the aforementioned theorists (who constantly compare the reality of politics to ideals, morals, and virtues).
Hence the Democrats’ tension with Israel, since most Israeli people and politicians subscribe to realpolitik (a system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations).
It isn’t that we in Israel do not appreciate ideals, morals, and virtues; of course we do, especially when sitting in a European café or American diner.
But in Israel, over-indexing on ideals, morals, and virtues would literally be catastrophic for the one and only Jewish state that finds itself among the turbulent, unpredictable, lethal, Islamist-infested quicksands of the Middle East.
And to that catastrophic possibility, we say: Thanks, but no thanks.
“Obama: Intervening to Save Hamas?” Commentary.
“Obama Admin Wants Hamas Ally Qatar to Remain Chief Broker in Peace Process.” The Washington Free Beacon.
Interesting too, that the double standards of applying Liberal morals to Israel, but not to Hamas or Hezbollah or Iran, is precisely what the Left of the Democratic Party do in every flare-up of the endless Wars in The Middle East. Why is this? The actual reason is because to criticise people of Colour is seen as an act which breaks the Solidarity in the ranks of the Anti-White, Anti-Colonial and Anti-West Compact: Nothing to do with (Liberal) Idealism at all.
Henry Kissinger once quipped that "it may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."