Biden Must Break with Bibi

Now is the time for moral clarity and political courage

On Wednesday, Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, sent a message to President Joe Biden. “His problem, more than anything,” Scarborough told his viewers, “is Israel and what is happening to Gaza.” Biden “can be pro-Israel but he has to separate himself - and I would say dramatically now - from a guy who wants to undermine all efforts at peace in the region.”

It is a message that many are sending Biden as he hemorrhages political support from the Democratic base. A New York Times poll last month found that a whopping 57 percent of the American public disapprove of his handling of the war. It has only gotten worse since then with Democrats in key states such as Michigan saying they will not vote for Biden.

Israel’s war on Gaza has ground on for over 100 days. Israeli forces have killed over 25,000 Palestinians, including over 10,000 children, seriously injured more than 65,000, displaced almost 2 million, destroyed much of the cultural, educational, religious, medical and governmental infrastructure, and brought much of the population of Gaza to the brink of “catastrophic hunger,” according to multiple UN agencies.

With all that, Israel is very far from the “total victory” Netanyahu seeks. Rather than destroying Hamas, the group’s leadership is largely intact, its fighters still fiercely resist IDF advances, Hamas’ popularity among Palestinians and in the region has skyrocketed, support for Israel has plummeted and there is no plan of any kind for what comes after the war.

Shortly after the horrific and inexcusable Hamas massacre of 1200 Israelis, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stood next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, condemned the terrorist attack and said that now was the time “for moral clarity.” Nothing could justify such an act. “No country can or would tolerate the slaughter of its citizens,” he said.  “Israel has the right – indeed, the obligation – to defend itself and to ensure that this never happens again.”

But he also urged Israel to act with moral clarity in its response. It was an integral part of the Biden administration’s response to the attack. Blinken said:

“How Israel does this matters.  We democracies distinguish ourselves from terrorists by striving for a different standard – even when it’s difficult – and holding ourselves to account when we fall short.  Our humanity – the value that we place on human life and human dignity – that’s what makes us who we are.  And we count them among our greatest strengths.

‘That’s why it’s so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.”

Netanyahu and his far-right government have ignored this advice. Worse, he has made Biden and his capable national security team look feckless.

“What’s happening now is that Prime Minister Netanyahu is rebuffing the Biden administration at virtually every turn,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). “Ignoring their entreaties, slapping down the proposal to move quickly toward a two-state solution, I would think there’s a point when the Biden administration runs out of patience. They have a lot more patience than I would. I think that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions are hurting Israel and I think they’re hurting the United States.” 

Van Hollen is part of a growing Democratic move to break with Bibi (as he is called by friends and foes). But how, exactly, should the administration do this so that it does not jeopardize Israel’s legitimate security concerns?

The first and easiest step for Biden to take is to forcibly assert American rejection of all efforts to force Palestinians from Gaza. “It is important for America and the world to hear Biden oppose this moral calamity,” wrote former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich on January 24.

Sixty Members of the House of Representatives wrote Biden about precisely this on January 18. The letter, lead by Rep. Jamie Raskin and Rep. Ayanna Presley said:

“We have serious concerns both about extremist rhetoric from some Israeli officials and about proposals being floated by some in the Israeli government for the transfer of Palestinian civilians out of Gaza. For instance, the Israeli Ministry of Intelligence, in a document dated October 13, 2023, proposed the forcible and permanent transfer of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The document understandably raised fears among Palestinians of permanent displacement from Gaza. These fears were exacerbated by a report in November that the Israeli government “has quietly tried to build international support in recent weeks for the transfer of several hundred thousand civilians from Gaza to Egypt for the duration of its war.” Continued extremist rhetoric by Israeli government officials, such as calling for “Nakba 2023,” is also deeply alarming and further heightens concerns that some members of the Israeli government support forcibly transferring Palestinians out of Gaza.”

The second step is to condition future aid to Israel. The U.S. is by far the largest donor to Israel, providing over $3.8 billion each year. An additional aid package of $14 billion is awaiting Congressional approval. The Democratic House Members wrote that this aid must not be used for “any forced transfer of population.”

There are several other such efforts to condition aid. Sen. Bernie Sanders had the support of ten other Senators, including Van Hollen, to condition aid on a report by the State Department that Israel was in compliance with human rights and international accords in its war on Gaza. The White House opposed the measure and his resolution was tabled in the Senate earlier this month. But now others have joined the effort. Eighteen Senate Democrats say they support an amendment that would require Israel to use any future aid “in accordance with U.S. law, international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict.”

The third is to reiterate again and again that the only path to true security and peace in the region is through the establishment of an independent Palestine alongside an independent Israel. Bibi’s vision of Israeli rule “from the river to the sea” must be rejected.

J Street, the largest pro-Israel, pro-peace organization in the United States, says it urges - in addition to imposing “clear guardrails on Israeli policy” in all future aid - that Biden “outline a clear vision to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” The group says “Only courageous diplomacy to achieve a political resolution leading to a Palestinian state can end this conflict and provide the meaningful security both people crave and the freedom Palestinians must have from occupation, settlements and blockade.”

Finally, and most importantly, Biden must move aggressively to end this war. The war on Gaza is fueling other conflicts in the region. If it does not end soon, it is just a matter of time before an attack, intentionally or not, triggers precisely the wider regional war whose prevention has been Biden’s number one priority since the October 7 attack.

The key is for Joe Biden to be as forceful in his pursuit of peace as he has been in pursuit of Israel’s security.

Senior administration officials have told me and others in private conversations that Biden will never call for a ceasefire. But he has urged a humanitarian pause in the fighting in the past and could again. Such a pause could allow for the release of further hostages - a high priority for the majority of the Israeli public - and a vast increase in the humanitarian aid now throttled by Israel.

I told journalist Bill Press on his podcast this week, that this may be the only approach the could work. “The best gambit right now for the administration is to get another hostage deal,” I said, “Something that would pause the fighting, allow in more humanitarian aid and gain release of the hostages. This is something the Israeli public would support and that could bring Netanyahu kicking and screaming onto a path that would eventually lead to the end of this war.”

Such a plan may be in the works. There are reports of a US-Qatar-Egyptian effort to pause the fighting and then develop the pause into a phased regional diplomatic process to end the war, aid those in Gaza and start serious negotiations towards broader regional diplomatic recognition of Israel linked to the pursuit of a viable two-state solution.

The key for all of this is for Joe Biden to be as forceful in his pursuit of peace as he has been in pursuit of Israel’s security. His original plan of public support for Israel linked with pleas for restraint was sound. It failed.

To save Gaza, to save Israel, and to save his own political fortunes, it is time to shift gears.