The Biden administration has made strong statements in support of Israel after the small nation absorbed what can only be described as a heinous, inhuman surprise attack on citizens a week ago, Saturday, October 7. Even critics of the president were complementary of his thoughtful, sympathetic remarks, encouraging Israel to understand unequivocally that America has its back.
But that was last week. Now the anti-Israel mobs are protesting in the streets – in the US and around the world. Multiple nations, from Iran and Jordan to China, have denounced Israel’s actions in Gaza, and even the UN is focusing its pressure campaign on Israel, not Hamas. Can the president’s unwavering support of America’s ally in the Middle East stand strong, or will the weight of public opinion get him weak in the knees?
Just How Unwavering Is Our Support for Israel?
Most who listened thought the president’s words of unwavering solidarity were from the heart and inspiring. “And let there be no doubt: The United States has Israel’s back. We’re with Israel. Let’s make no mistake,” Biden declared. In the week since, time has had an opportunity to lay hands on the administration. The bleeding hearts are hemorrhaging words of protest on the plight of the Palestinian residents of Gaza. Worse yet, the United Nations is awake. “The UN Palestine refugee agency (United Nations Relief and Works Agency – UNRWA) issued an urgent call on Saturday, (October 14) for Israeli authorities to protect all civilians sheltering in Gaza,” a UN News statement explained. “The statement came as the Israeli-imposed deadline for some 1.1 million civilians to leave the northern part of the enclave, ahead of what is expected to be a major advance into Gaza by Israeli ground forces, expired,” the UN said.
While the UN laments the plight of the Palestinian residents in Gaza trying to get out and not get caught in the crossfire between the Israeli combat forces and Hamas Islamic terrorists, the leaders of Hamas “urged Palestinians to ignore the call, and by Friday (October 13) afternoon there were no signs of a mass exodus from the north of the enclave,” Reuters reported. No surprise here. If all the innocent Palestinians evacuated, who would be left for Hamas to use as shields?
Even if the weight of public opinion driven by progressive anti-Israel protests doesn’t cause Biden to cave, there is the daily assault of the killed and wounded statistics. “At least 3,200 people have been killed since Hamas launched thousands of missiles into Israel last week, including at least 1,300 Israeli civilians and soldiers and 27 Americans. Palestinian health authorities say at least 2,215 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 8,700 wounded,” Peter Aitken reported for Fox News. And those numbers will continue to grow as the IDF makes its ground attack on the Hamas terrorists’ stronghold in Gaza. Can Biden stick to his guns?
Media Offers Biden an Off-Ramp
Already, the fawning media is giving the administration a way out. CNN reporters have started to lay out the problem for the White House, which could be the logic for Biden backtracking. “Going forward, however, the president will face a delicate balance as he works to support America’s ally while also avoiding becoming embroiled in another foreign conflict,” CNN explained. Don’t want to get “embroiled,” do we? Then, in an amazing explanation of what truly motivates the liberal media in the US, CNN described the real problem for Biden. It’s the purely political motivation that “the president who faces wars in Europe and the Middle East at the same time he is ramping up a campaign for re-election premised largely on his experience as a stable, competent leader.” That premise may not be the best. Biden as a stable, competent leader, well that train left the station at the Kabul international airport tarmac in August 2021.
After the horrific Hamas assault on Israeli civilians, President Biden addressed a group of Jewish community leaders at the White House. Despite the carnage and unspeakable acts of brutality, Biden wanted those assembled to know he counseled Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to exercise restraint in dealing with Hamas. According to a posting by Ian Schwartz in RealClear Politics, Biden explained to the audience: “With all the anger, frustration and just – I don’t know how to explain it, that exists, is that they operate by the rules of war, the rules of war, and there are rules of war.”
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The heavy weight of public opinion has so far favored the president. Still, there is a time coming very soon when the Palestinian residents of Gaza who have protected the vile Hamas organization will feel the crushing effects of being without electricity, water, internet, and food. Worldwide pacifists will unite and scream for the cessation of hostilities before the IDF has rid the world of the Hamas scourge. International friends and allies will lose the courage they so quickly manifested when the images on the screen were murdered Israelis. “The international outcry mounted on Friday against Israel’s warning to more than a million Gaza civilians to evacuate south within 24 hours before an expected all-out assault,” according to Reuters, is what Biden will face very soon. So far, the president has been even-handed in allowing Prime Minister Netanyahu the freedom of action the IDF needs. “…A threatened ground offensive – with the likelihood of a higher civilian death toll – could force the president to rethink that approach,” Reuters concluded.
With the lack of a coherent strategy in Ukraine and the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle stuck firmly in the minds of those who watched in real-time, the question is: Will Biden hold fast to more than just words over the long haul of this conflict? Let’s hope for a pleasant surprise.
