It's been over two months since Hamas brutally attacked Israel, not only killing 1,200 Israelis, but also engaging in kidnapping, rape, and torture. Not even babies or Holocaust survivors were spared from horrific fates. Since then, Israel has been working to defend itself and the right to exist. As the Jewish state, it is especially critical that Israel be able to do so. The United States under President Joe Biden has had a mixed record in supporting Israel, but infighting over the issue within the Democratic Party, polling, and Biden's own comments as well as those from his administration continue to raise questions as to if we have the back of our ally in the Middle East.
On Monday night, Biden participated in a Hanukkah ceremony during which he pointed out that "were there no Israel, there wouldn’t be a Jew in the world that is safe." Such remarks were enough to have radical leftist, Soros-funded, anti-Zionist groups such as IfNotNow freaking out, but that's not enough to be assured there's an ideal relationship right now between Israel and the United States.
Biden, like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), is making news on Tuesday though for having criticized Israel's government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he said at a fundraising event that members of the White House pool attended.
Not only did the president single out Netanyahu by saying "Bibi's got a tough decision to make," he also noted that Netanyahu's government "is the most conservative government in Israel's history," and claimed it's one that "doesn't want a two-state solution." Since the October 7 attack, Biden's X accounts have posted support for a two-state solution multiple times.
The president also noted that Israel is starting to lose support around the world, as he also declared that Netanyahu "has to strength and change," speaking further to the importance of a long-term solution in this conflict.
Netanyahu responded with an address over his own X account making clear he will not go back to the Oslo accords, the 1993 agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
In posting about Biden's new remarks, Newsmax's James Rosen noted "HONEYMOON'S OVER."
It brings to mind the reminder that the United States and Israel have had and should still have a positive relationship as allies, though many in the Democratic Party, including its leader, would rather focus on Netanyahu and his government.
Biden sadly a point when it comes to how Israel is losing support. The problem is within the president's own party. Last week we covered how Democrats are in disarray over the issue, and new evidence to support that claim comes out by the day.
Polling speaks to how our ally in the Middle East is especially losing support among Democrats and young people, who often vote Democratic. Last month's Quinnipiac University poll had particularly alarming findings. Not only did a plurality of Democrats say their sympathies more so lie with Palestinians, which is how the poll phrased it, but that that's the case for young people. Further, only a plurality, at 48 percent, of young people recognize that Hamas "is more responsible for the outbreak of violence in the Middle East."
Another poll from last month, from NBC News, had us asking a similar question about Biden's support for Israel, or lack thereof. For the headlines and takeaways were that Biden's approval rating had dropped to among its lowest, which was blamed on his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
There's been more recent polls since then, including from CBS News, which released a poll just before Biden's remarks. Perhaps his team took note of the results when preparing him on what to say to donors?
"Most Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of Israel-Hamas war" was one of the key takeaways, as a headline noted. Support for how Biden has been handling the war across every party has gone down, including from 66 percent among fellow Democrats in October, to 63 percent today. Overall, just 39 percent approve while 61 percent disapprove.
More Democrats also believe that Biden is showing "too much support" for Israel than they did in October, from 28 percent to 38 percent. Less Democrats also believe he's showing the "right amount of support," from 62 percent to 54 percent.
Fifty percent of those 18-29 support how Biden is handling the war, while 50 percent oppose how he's doing so. Just 32 percent of those 30-44 support how he's handling the war, while those numbers are at 37 percent for those 45-64 and 40 percent for those 65 and older.
Perhaps most tellingly when it comes to the issue of Democrats in disarray over support for Israel but also condemnation for pro-Hamas demonstrations, is a somewhat buried finding. The poll also asked about what Biden should do about "pro-Palestinian protests" in the United States. A plurality of Republicans, at 49 percent, say he should "condemn them," while a majority of Democrats, at 59 percent, say he should "not take a position." Democrats are more likely to say Biden should support them than condemn them, at 26 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
The poll surveyed 2,1888 Americans from December 6-8, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
The Wall Street Journal poll had similar numbers, in that 37 percent approve of Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war, while 52 percent disapprove.
Overall, a plurality, at 42 percent of respondents, said that they sympathized more with Israelis in the conflict. While 33 percent said they sympathize with both Israelis and Palestinians equally and 12 percent said they sympathize more with Palestinians.
Just 17 percent of Democrats said they sympathize more with Israelis. While a plurality, at 48 percent, said they sympathize with both equally, Democrats were more likely to sympathize with Palestinians, with 24 percent saying so, than Israelis.
Those 18-34 are evenly split between sympathizing more with Israelis or both equally, at 31 percent each.
This poll surveyed 1,500 registered voters from November 29-December 4 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Biden made other remarks at the fundraiser separate from Netanyahu, per the notes. This includes how he's looking to "secure the freedom of more than 100 hostages." While that's welcome information, there's still many more hostages that remain captive, including many of the Americans who were taken, though 4-year-old Abigail Idan, was among hostages released after multiple rounds.
The temporary pause has ended, though, as Hamas attacked people in Jerusalem. The terrorist group also refuses to release all of the female hostages, as the State Department revealed last week.
While he's had some helpful information to remind people of, including putting the White House press corps in its place over how they cannot trust Palestinian accounts, especially on death tolls, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby has been less than helpful about providing updates on hostages.
Top Biden spokesman John Kirby on the Americans who have been held hostage in Gaza for 67 days: "I wish I had better news on the American hostages that are left. We're still working to get better information about where they are, how they are." pic.twitter.com/BvQaYYUlCm
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 12, 2023
It's not just Biden's remarks, though. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has had a mixed record as well, including in just recent weeks. While he accurately pointed out on ABC News' "This Week" that the war could end tomorrow if Hamas would stop fighting, he had also made bizarre remarks about Israel not having the "credit" for eliminating Hamas. Vice President Kamala Harris made remarks coming close to indicating Israel should show restraint which was the subject of recent coverage from USA Today.
Here's a particularly noteworthy excerpt, under the subheader of "Israeli worries that U.S. support is waning":
Hulata, the former Israeli national security adviser, said that Israel continues to abide by all international rules and laws. In fact, he said, its advance warnings have allowed Hamas leaders to escape along with the civilians it is trying to protect – thus prolonging the war.
“It is true that many unintentional killings of civilians doesn’t look good but it doesn’t mean that Israel is not adhering to the international law,” he said.
But Hulata also said the Israeli government is growing concerned it is losing the support of elements within the Biden administration as civilian deaths rise – even though, he said, those deaths are a result of Hamas’ use of human shields.
“This is something that I guess is too difficult for people from a liberal background to comprehend or to able to agree to,” Hulata said. “At a point in time, the administration might tell the Israeli government that time is up” in terms of U.S. support.
Last month at the Israeli embassy, Townhall attended a screening of approximately 45 minutes, or less than 10 percent, of the footage of the atrocities committed by Hamas. Eliav Benjamin, the Deputy Head of Mission to the Embassy of Israel, gave remarks beforehand, during which he reminded that this is "a time of determination," specifically "a time when Israel is striking against one of the worst terrorist organizations in the world and fighting a just war, not on Israel's behalf and not just on the behalf of the Jewish people, but on behalf of the free world." Benjamin also spoke to how "I don't believe Israel should be apologizing for anything it is doing now, on the contrary. It is our obligation to take care of our people."
Israel will do the right thing for her people. That includes the government, and what the political fate of Netanyahu will be. It would be nice, though, if our ally felt she had our back in doing so.