Under Obama, we all thought that might have been the most anti-Israel presidency in recent memory. Joe Biden has surpassed that to take the crown, which no one should want. The past week has been riddled with moments of Biden and his staff spitting in the face of Israel. They cut off arms shipments over Israel’s operation in Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza.
Before that, the State Department claimed that the IDF had committed human rights violations before the October 7 attacks and the war that ensued. And now, this presidency has decided to hurl the Jewish state under the bus by claiming this justified war of self-defense violated international law (via NYT):
The Biden administration has concluded it is “reasonable to assess” that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza may have violated international law or “established best practices” for protecting civilians, but has not found specific instances that would justify the withholding of military aid, the State Department told Congress on Friday.
In the administration’s most detailed assessment of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, the State Department said in a written report to Congress that Israel “has the knowledge, experience and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations.”
But it added that “the results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions” as to whether the Israel Defense Forces are using them sufficiently.
The report also noted that “Israel has not shared complete information to verify” whether U.S. weapons have been used in specific incidents alleged to have involved human rights law violations.
Nevertheless, the report, mandated by President Biden, makes a distinction between the general possibility that Israel has violated the law and any conclusions about specific incidents that would prove the notion. It deems assurances Israel provided in March that it would use U.S. arms consistent with international law “credible and reliable,” thus allowing the continued flow of U.S. military aid.
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What’s animating the progressive Left is the fake narrative of genocide being committed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Biden decided to pour gasoline on that narrative with this idiotic report that is transparent in its intentions: it’s aimed to appease the antisemitic and pro-Hamas college kids whom Biden needs to win re-election. It’s another page of the ‘win Michigan only’ 2024 playbook.
It's the same with the human rights violations bit: the Leahy laws dictate that all aid be cut off, but this presidency won’t pull that trigger. They did halt some shipments of bombs and have threatened to limit more offensive weapons due to the Rafah operation. Still, the game here is to act tough, spit in the face of our only democratic ally in the Middle East, but stop short of doing exactly what the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions clowns want.
Biden is trying to appease the antisemites but hopes the total abandonment of Israel doesn’t shake the Democratic Party loyalty of American Jewish voters. First, it’s a dumb ploy—there’s no way this ends without both sides hating this man equally. Second, Biden doesn’t have the political skill to pull off this political con job. Nuance also isn’t his strong suit. It’s another exercise of a man who’s way ahead of skis. To channel The West Wing for a second, Biden is a man with a .22 caliber mind, trying to pull a fast one in a .357 world. Like with everything he’s done, it’ll fail.
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