SUPPORT AND BETRAYALS

Non-Partisan Biden-Harris Report Card on Israel

 

By James Sinkinson 

 

FLAME

Sep 3, 2024

 

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the US votes to abstain on an anti-Israel resolution at the UN Security Council on March 25, 2024, thereby allowing the resolution to pass

 

Over the decades, many passionate supporters of Israel and FLAME have complained that FLAME is “too partisan” because we criticize their favorite politician or beloved political party. One supporter, for example, wrote to tell us to "stop criticizing President Obama—you don't understand, we love him!"

Nonetheless, we at FLAME, for 35 years now, maintain strict non-partisanship. We judge elected officials and their parties by one criterion only: Are they supporting Israel today? Whether it was the Bushes, Obama, Trump, or Biden, we have never held back. We're not trying to get anyone elected (or defeated). That's your job as a voter.

But for a dose of objectivity, let us offer a dispassionate look at the Biden-Harris record on Israel. Let's start by giving give credit where it’s due: Biden and Harris have supported Israel in many critical areas—positions that we, and we're confident, Israel, deeply appreciate. But there have also been serious lapses in this support.

Kamala Harris's acceptance speech at the DNC reveals both the positive and the negative. 

Harris started by making inspiring, supportive statements about Israel. Yet, even as she began her segment on Israel, we could feel a "but" coming. Here’s how Harris affirmed America’s commitment to Israel: She forcefully promised to continue the White House's support of Israel's right—and ability—to defend itself. She boldly called out the brutality of Hamas on October 7^th, invoking the horror of Hamas's "sexual violence" and its "massacre of young people."

Then came the "but." "At the same time," she said, "what has happened in Gaza is devastating . . . the scale of suffering is heartbreaking." She concluded by praising the efforts she and Biden have taken to achieve a ceasefire that returns the hostages and guarantees Israel's security, as well as the Palestinians’ right to self-determination—as though the grievances in this war are equivalent. We note she did not conclude with a commitment to Israel's goals: The elimination of Hamas's evil leadership, its terrorist battalions and the support by nearly 60% of Gazans who praised Hamas's savagery on October 7.

So, here's our "but": Even as we acknowledge Biden's and Harris's valuable support of Israel over the last 3½ years—let's also not forget their betrayals of Israel's interests, some of which have been egregious. Depending on how you weigh the issues of Israel and Jewish well-being against other political issues, this report card may or may not influence your vote in November. But at least it gives you a non-partisan, pro-Israel perspective—objective pros and cons.

BIDEN-HARRIS POSITIVE GRADES ON ISRAEL

• President Biden has expressed consistent support for Israel and visited immediately after October 7^th. He said, “We are going to make sure . . . you have what you need to protect your people, to defend your nation.”
• Team Biden-Harris has supported Israel financially: Approving continuation of a 10-year, $35 billion grant to fund Israel's military efforts—defending itself and supporting U.S. interests. They also approved Congress's National Security Supplemental Aid allocation of an additional $15 billion in response to Hamas's and Hezbollah's new wars on Israel.
• Biden-Harris vetoed several slanderous anti-Israel UN resolutions. This includes one calling for full UN membership for the “State of Palestine”—thus rewarding the atrocities of October 7^th—plus several very unfavorable ceasefire resolutions.
• The White House sent military forces to the Mediterranean to back Israel: Since October 7^th, the U.S. has significantly increased its military presence in the Middle East and warned Iran and its proxies to stand down.
• The U.S. helped Israel's defense against Iran's massive mid-April attack: Iran attacked Israel using hundreds of missiles and drones. U.S. forces shot down six ballistic missiles and dozens of drones.
• The Administration helped achieve an early ceasefire and hostages' release: In late November, the Biden-Harris Administration helped broker a 7-day ceasefire that resulted in the liberation of 110 hostages.
• Biden and Harris have consistently voiced support for Israel's right to defend itself: They have repeatedly described their support of Israel as “ironclad.”

BIDEN-HARRIS NEGATIVE GRADES ON ISRAEL

• White House betrayed Israel at the UN: On March 25^th, the U.S. failed to veto a resolution that demanded an immediate ceasefire—not conditioned on hostages’ release—falsely implicated Israel for impeding aid, and failed to condemn Hamas for either aid disruptions or hostage taking.
• Biden-Harris government is withholding vital weapons from Israel: According to Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the U.S. is withholding at least seven weapons systems from Israel.
• Administration is pressuring Israel to accept a disastrous ceasefire: Such a ceasefire would prevent Israel from destroying Hamas and enable the terrorist group to repeat the atrocities of October 7^th, as they have vowed.
• Team Biden-Harris threatened Israel against offensive attacks on Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Iran: If the IDF invaded Rafah, Biden threatened, “I’m not supplying the weapons.” Biden has similarly tried to prevent Israeli retaliation for aggression by Iran and its proxies.
• Biden and Harris falsely accused Israel of responsibility for Gaza food shortages: They fail to mention that Hamas steals most of the abundant aid that goes into Gaza.
• Biden and Harris falsely accused Israel of military actions endangering Palestinians: Team-Biden Harris constantly accuse Israel of killing too many civilians, even though the civilian-to-combatant ratio during this war is only 1.5 to 1—perhaps the lowest in the history of modern warfare.
• Harris consistently uses false equivalence between Israel and Hamas: Harris often implies a sinister contradiction between Israel defending itself and Palestinians being killed—never mentioning it was Hamas who started the war.
• White House coddles and appeases U.S.’s and Israel’s arch-enemy Iran: Team Biden-Harris gave Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief and tried to revive the dangerous nuclear deal creating Iran’s path to acquire nuclear weapons. It also overlooks Iran’s blatant acts of aggression.
• Biden and Harris express sympathy for the "feelings" of antisemites: At the DNC, Biden referred to thousands of pro-Hamas protesters outside, saying “They have a point.”

In short, Biden and Harris have indisputably supported Israel in critical ways and deserve our thanks. But this administration has demonstrably widened the “daylight” between the two powers. U.S. support has been inconsistent and uncertain. The White House frequently tries to micromanage Israel’s military strategies and threatens to withdraw support—which annoys Jerusalem. The administration claims Israel has the right to self-defense, yet also tries to prevent it from destroying Hamas—placating pro-Palestinian Democrat voters and protecting the administration’s ill-starred hopes for a two-state solution. In sum, while the relationship is undeniably positive, it has become increasingly weakened under the current administration.