MOSHE HILL OPINION COLUMNS APRIL 10 2024
As you were warned for months and months, the final nail in the coffin between the Democratic Party and the State of Israel has finally been hammered in by Joe Biden. After six months of war that was started by Hamas when they viciously attacked Israeli civilians, Biden is now siding with Hamas to placate his radical, Jew-hating base. Biden is caving in the worst possible way, telling terrorists around the world that hiding behind civilians provides immunity from retribution for their atrocities.
Only a few weeks ago, the United States abstained from a United Nations Security Council resolution which called for a ceasefire by Israel without saying that the ceasefire is only if the hostages are released. This alone was an egregious breach in the alliance between the U.S. and Israel. Now, according to reports, this is the official policy that Biden is demanding from Bibi Netanyahu.
From the official White House readout of the call between the two leaders: “[Biden] underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home.” The official statement from the Biden White House only puts pressure on Israel to cave to Hamas with zero support saying that if Hamas rejects offers, then the United States will of course support Israel militarily. It’s no surprise that Hamas rejected 40 to 1 terrorist to hostage swaps. They know that if they hold out longer, Biden will do their dirty work for them.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statements have added fuel to the fire, intensifying worries about the administration’s dismissal of Israel. Blinken stood in front of NATO and told them that Israel risks becoming “indistinguishable” from Hamas if it doesn’t change policy.
This is disgusting. Israel has been losing soldiers trying to protect the civilian lives Hamas is hiding behind. Israel is sending hundreds of trucks of aid every day to their enemies. Biden and Blinken are getting their intelligence from social media, not their ally for three quarters of a century.
Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House and still an incredibly important figure in the Democratic Party, joined Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and others who have been chanting for Israel’s destruction in a letter demanding the halting of weapons sales to Israel. “In light of the recent strike against aid workers and the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis, we believe it is unjustifiable to approve these weapons transfers,” the letter said. This is the center of the Democratic Party.
Few Democrats remain that can be considered “moderate” on this issue, or are at least willing to call out the Biden administration and their fellow Dems. Chris Cuomo, on his new show on News Nation, hit Biden for their mixed messages and accused him of playing politics. “You’re treating the war against Israel as if it were another political point of compromise,” he said. “‘This is wrong. But this is wrong. And we need to do better here. And there has to be change and blah, blah, blah. Ceasefire.’ A lot of words, a lot of conditional language, a lot of half-speak, a lot of appeasement in a situation that is not about balance. It is about realities.”
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who has become a surprisingly cogent voice in the Democratic Party, is not shy about calling out fellow Dems. When Kamala Harris made the pathetically hilarious comment that she “studied the maps” and determined that Israel should not go into Rafah, Fetterman responded. “Hard disagree,” he wrote on X. “Israel has the right to prosecute Hamas to surrender or to be eliminated. Hamas owns every innocent death for their cowardice hiding behind Palestinian lives.” Fetterman also went after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel. “It’s reasonable if you want to criticize, but to call for effectively like a regime change, I disagree,” Fetterman said. “I didn’t agree because Israel is a democracy; it is our key special ally. And our nation wouldn’t appreciate any kind of foreign input. So why should we do that for Israel?”
Biden is clearly not taking the Fetterman or Ritchie Torres lane on Israel, but is far closer to Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. The latest report from the Financial Times is that Biden is going to reverse the Trump-era decision of items sold in the United States from Israel. Trump established that all items made in Judea and Samaria be labeled “Made in Israel.” This is because Judea and Samaria is the biblical heartland of the Jewish state. Biden is planning on having these items labeled “Made in Judea and Samaria” to placate the BDS supporters in his base (the same people chanting “Death to Israel, Death to America” on the streets of Dearborn, Michigan).
Further widening the divide between Democrat and Republican leadership on supporting Israel, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson put out a statement of unequivocal support for Israel. “It’s time to stop lecturing Israel on how it should best defend itself and begin equipping our friend with the resources necessary to eliminate the threat of Hamas, once and for all,” he said.
When the Squad entered office in 2018 and were embraced by Democratic Party leadership, their radical positions were dismissed by the “vote blue no matter who” crowd as a minor voice in the Democratic Party. When Bernie Sanders was on the path to win the 2016 and 2020 nomination and the Democrat machine stepped in to stop him, the lifelong Dem supporters said that the Republicans were the extremists and the Democrats were moderate. That lie is completely exposed now. Joe Biden is as extreme as any of them. His administration is staffed with people as extreme as any member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who have been chanting “from the river to the sea” at their events since at least 2017.
As of now, it is impossible to claim that support for Israel is something you prioritize and vote Democrat. They are as far apart as they have ever been. The Democrats cannot be rewarded with the votes of Israel supporters while they have these extremists at the helm. That alliance is dead. It’s possible it can be revived, but only with a massive change in Democratic priorities and leadership.
