Biden's Support of Israli Nationalism Harms His Legacy
This article was originaly published on January 16, 2025.
A new ProPublica report shares alarming details of the Biden Administration’s refusal to hold Israel accountable in its ongoing war with Hamas. Evidence shows Israel is using money and weapons provided by the US in the killing and oppression of Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are caught in the conflict. Israel has defended its actions in Gaza by claiming self-defense after a violent attack conducted by Hamas in October of 2023. ProPublica’s reporting shows top leaders in the Biden White House explicitly ignored recommendations from State Department officials advising the administration to pull money and supplies from Israel over its abuses. The officials argued that US law and policy demands restricting or limiting support to countries that are shown to engage in human rights violations. While the Biden Administration publicly threatened to curtail aid and support over the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, behind the scenes they ensured funds and supplies would continue to flow. Leaders suppressed information and investigations by the State Department that uncovered human rights abuses conducted by Israel. While possibly violating laws, Biden’s top officials smashed through established ethics that should dictate foreign policy.
Pushed by far-right nationalism and ideology, Israel’s widespread killing of Palestinians in Gaza, including women and children, has been condemned as a genocide by many in the international community. Israel has also severely limited the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza. In peace talks, Israel policy has been too slow-walk and stall negotiations with Hamas that would end the conflict. These actions prompted the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others. The warrants presented the war crimes and the blocking of aid as purposeful policy choices. In response. President Biden condemned the ICC, defending Netanyahu and doubling down on US support of the country.
Yesterday also saw the announcement of a cease-fire agreement that could end violence between Israel and Hamas. It would allow much needed aid into Gaza and see the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during their October 7 attack. Despite this, hopes for an end to the conflict have been called into question after Netanyahu delayed a vote on the agreement by the Knesset. Reasons for the pause are complicated, but far-right leaders in Israel hope to reject any road to peace. They represent a group of key supports for Netanyahu who have helped him retain power despite public disapproval of his leadership. An end to the war may see and end to Netanyahu’s time in power, something he may be taking into consideration.
Americans should be furious with the Biden’s policies and actions when it comes to Israel. Publicly, Biden has condemned human rights abuses against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. However, his actions have supported Israel’s program of terror and deeply harm is legacy. While Biden is from an older generation that sees US support of Israel as a non-negotiable, it is not an excuse. Biden has enabled genocide against civilians despite widespread opposition among the US public and those working in key government positions. He has also joined President-elect Donald Trump in harming the reputation of the US on the world stage. The ProPublica article mentioned above explains that the Muslim world has become enraged at the US for its involvement in the conflict. The repercussions of this anger will influence US relationships with Muslim majority countries for years to come. It also cites the growing anger among Arab Americans against their own government. Many Arab Americans have watched their county play lip service to human rights, even as many have had to report the death or suffering of close relatives and friends in Gaza with no ability to help.
“Despite Biden’s part in all this, he will walk away from public service never seeing political repercussions for the choice of unconditionally supporting Israel.”
Despite Biden’s part in all this, he will walk away from public service never seeing political repercussions for the choice of unconditionally supporting Israel. Yesterday he delivered farewell remarks to the nation, opening his address by taking credit for the cease-fire deal that now sits in limbo. While he paints his leadership as one supporting peace, his refusal to pull aid from Israel during this conflict allowed Netanyahu to drag out the war. That delay in peacemaking has cost tens of thousands of lives.
The true extent of Israel’s actions against Palestinian is currently unknown. NGOs and most international press agencies have been kept out of the conflict zone. Coupled with the fact that Israel will continue to occupy Gaza after any agreements are made, there is no reason to believe objective, third party observers will have the ability to assess what has happened. Some in Israel’s government hope to turn land in Gaza over to Israeli settlers – a move that would create even more obstacles for those looking to investigate. It may be the facts around human rights violations in Gaza will disappear down a dark hole with few records available to recreate the story. Despite what reasons he would offer, Biden has propped up a regime of nationalists in Israel who have used their power to kill, steal, and destroy.
Biden’s address to the American people last night included warnings about disinformation, dark money, and also called for government ethics reform. He asked the American people to push for more accountability from elected officials and asked that laws be put into place that would ensure Presidents are punishable under the law for actions taken while in office. He even argued that extreme wealth and the concentration of power is harmful for American democracy.
These comments were motivated by Trump’s return to office. Now a convicted felon, Trump’s leadership will see a dramatic change in US policy, foreign and domestic. If his first term in office is any indication, officials in his government may not even pay lip-service to human rights as a serious concern. Biden seems completely unaware of how his actions regarding Israel harm his credibility. While trying to condemn forces of domestic nationalism and Trump’s authoritarianism, he has supported and funded the aims of Israeli nationalists who have enacted actual war crimes. It is hard to take moral outrage or warnings like Biden’s seriously under such circumstances. As he leaves office, it may also be a sign that elected officials opposing Trump may follow Biden’s example. After all, many Democrats stood with Biden on Israel. Over the next four years it will be important to hold leaders accountable for their actions when it comes to protecting the nation from nationalist agendas. But we must ask, if they were unwilling to hold Israel accountable, why would they hold Trump accountable?