The Real Reason Joe Biden Is So Pro-Palestinian
Why is the Biden administration not doing what’s in the best interest of Israel, an American ally, or even of America?
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When U.S. President Joe Biden flew to Israel for a “solidarity visit” on October 18th, 2023, about a week and a half after the unprecedented Palestinian terror attacks, he said all the right things.
Like: “Hamas committed atrocities that recall the worst ravages of ISIS, unleashing pure unadulterated evil upon the world.” And: “We will not stand by and do nothing again,” a reference to the United States’ lackluster response during much of the Holocaust.
Even as Biden was firing on all Israeli and Jewish cylinders, it appeared that even then, in mid-October 2023, he was already in reelection campaign mode, perhaps vying for the Jewish American vote (and donor money) as he aims to avoid being a one-term U.S. president.
Then, a few weeks into the Israel-Hamas war, Biden and his administration started grouping antisemitism and Islamophobia into the same sentence, even though it was the Jews who suffered our worst attack since the Holocaust.
In November, amid soaring antisemitism in the U.S. against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, found the gall to spiritlessly unveil an anti-Islamophobia strategy — just one day after the FBI director told senators that antisemitism is reaching “historic levels” in the U.S.
As 2023 came to a close, Biden’s administration started ramping up its calls for Palestinian statehood. The U.S. has been advocating for a “contact group” with its Middle East allies, in an effort to coalesce around a united policy for managing the Gaza Strip after the Israel-Hamas war.1
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought the idea to leaders from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Turkey when he visited the region earlier this month — which would include the reconstruction of Gaza, reforming the Palestinian Authority (which currently oversees the Palestinian West Bank), an Israel-Saudi normalization agreement and, of course, creating a pathway to a Palestinian state.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland two weeks ago, Blinken insisted that Israel could not achieve “genuine security” without a “pathway to a Palestinian state.”
“The question now,” said Blinken, “is Israeli society prepared to engage on these questions? Is it prepared to have that mindset?”
Why in their right minds would Israelis be “prepared” to think about a Palestinian state just a few short months after being the victims of the Palestinians’ worst single-day attack in Israel, ever? Not to mention, while Israel is in the midst of a multi-front existential war, which includes thousands of incoming rockets from Gaza and Lebanon.
But Biden’s administration is not thinking about what is or isn’t in the best interest of Israel, the Palestinians, or the Middle East. Would would they be? They are, without a doubt, busy trying to come up with a quick fix to the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict, in time to parade their efforts to many voters who are not exactly thrilled with Biden’s first four years as president.
And perhaps Biden sees the Israel-Hamas war as an opportunity to do right in the minds of some voters who disapprove of his handling of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Either way, Biden is looking more and more vulnerable in reelection polls, which have Donald Trump leading Biden by six percentage points.2 But the U.S. presidential election is not based on a popular vote, which means just a few states can play an outsized role in determining the victor.
Two of these states are Michigan and Florida, home to the third and fourth biggest populations of Arab Americans, respectively. In 2012, Florida was decided by a margin of less than five percent, and a recent poll showed that Trump would emerge victorious over Biden in Florida in a head-to-head match-up.
Michigan, meanwhile, is home to more than 200,000 registered voters who are Muslim. As the Wall Street Journal put it recently, “Michigan is flashing warning signs for President Biden’s reelection bid.”
The newspaper noted that “top Democrats” in the state “are sounding alarms about recent polls showing Biden trailing Donald Trump,” in some cases “by nearly double digits.” Pollster Richard Czuba said, “If I was a Democrat in Michigan, I would be breaking the emergency fire alarms in the White House and demanding to know what the plan is for Michigan.”3
In 2016, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Michigan since 1988, edging out Hillary Clinton by fewer than 11,000 votes. Four years later, Biden won the state by a margin of more than 150,000 votes over Trump.
But recent polls show that Trump now has a sizable lead in Michigan. And while there are a number of factors at play, a critical one is whether the state’s Muslim population will come out for Biden or sit out the election.
In 2020, nearly 70 percent of Michigan’s Muslim population cast their ballots for Biden, helping him to win the state. But as an NPR report put it two months ago, “In Michigan, where every vote counts, Arab Americans are turning away from Biden.”
And they are not alone. Other surveys show that many young voters are furious at Biden for his support of Israel. Last week, one noteworthy poll found that half of Biden’s voters in 2020 believe the Israeli government is committing a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.4
Social media is thus filled with posts from Arab Americans speaking out against Biden’s administration, claiming that Biden has “Palestinian blood on his hands” and they will never vote for him.
Ella Emhoff, the stepdaughter of Vice President Kamala Harris, has even taken part in a public fundraising campaign for Gaza, writing that the campaign was “supporting urgent relief for Gaza’s children” and attaching the appeal to her Instagram page which has 315,000 followers.
Biden’s administration has also been sinking with so-called “progressives” for not listening to their repeated misguided calls for a ceasefire.
Yet Biden’s notable party member, Nancy Pelosi, just told CNN’s “State of the Union” program that calls for a ceasefire “are connected to Russia, and I say that having looked at this for a long time.” For pro-Palestinian demonstrators “to call for a ceasefire is Mr. Putin’s message,” she said.
Pelosi even added that she believes the FBI should investigate the root of the protests and where they emerged from.
For Biden and Harris, though, this upcoming election will in all likelihood not be the typical incumbent versus newcomer. Instead, the November election will probably feature two candidates who can claim incumbency, and a rematch of the 2016 election: Biden versus Trump.
From John Adams to George H.W. Bush, 10 presidents throughout U.S. history have run for reelection and lost. And with Biden set to turn 82 years old just a couple of weeks following the election, his age is also going to be a problem against a noticeably younger Trump.
It is thus quite likely that Biden’s administration will continue to micro-manage Israel’s war against the Iranian octopus (Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and others) in the coming months.
Biden told Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, during a phone conversation last week that he will not support a year-long war in Gaza. And according to a report this weekend, Biden is now discussing using weaponry sales to Israel as leverage to convince the Israeli government to heed U.S. calls to scale back its military response in the Gaza Strip — a response that Biden fully endorsed just a few months ago.5
Don’t be surprised, therefore, if getting the Israelis to agree to a Palestinian state comes next. Not because it is what’s in the best interest of Israel, an American ally, or even in the best interest of America, but because it might be the only chance for Biden to win the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
“US advances ‘contact group’ with Mideast allies to plan for postwar Gaza — officials.” The times of Israel.
“Trump vs. Biden: The rematch many Americans don’t want.” Reuters.
“Poll: Trump thumping Biden in Michigan — but losing to Whitmer.” Politico.
“Half of Biden voters say Israel committing genocide in Gaza: Poll.” The Hill.
“Biden administration discussing slowing some weaponry deliveries to Israel to pressure Netanyahu.” NBC.
In politics, it has been people last and self interest of the polticians first. Biden is not a leader, hence, the conflicts we are seeing globally thanks to his weakness as president. Watching him and the decisions he and his admin make is like watching a weak teacher, whose students know that whatever they do, they'll get away with in the classroom. It's basic pschology that the weak can be preyed upon when there are no consequences. How these pols have the audacity to talk about a Palestinian State is beyond any rational thought I have. This war and these times are different. Israel should not in any way give into this line of thinking, nor should they even entertain the idea of an exhange of more hostages for more Palestinian criminals in prison. The rules have changed in this war. Israel cannot afford to placate these people or show weakness to Hamas and the rest of the controlling Arab countries. Israel has known from past experience that ceasefires, agreements have failed, and that Hamas and other proxy country's words cannot be trusted. Israel and its people are the only priority right now because it's a matter of their survival. Am Yisrael Chai!!
A repeat comment (apologies, sincerely). I will never understand why the majority of Jewish Americans vote Democrat. Of course, it has become quite clear that we really have two arms (R and D) of the same party, so perhaps it seems the majority of Jewish Americans are Libs. Most Conservatives I know (and I count myself among them) are adamantly pro-Israel.