This current American Democratic administration appears, at this time, to be determined to do as much damage to US-Israel relations as possible both within the confines of the traditional relationship and in the balance of political power wielded by the Republicans.
That is a shame, not only for Israel but, most prominently, for Joe Biden’s political future.
The first step toward the current situation was taken in 1982 when then-senator Biden tangled with Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin. As I detailed in a 2008 blog post for the Menachem Begin Center: At a meeting with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 22, 1982, Biden attacked Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria and threatened that if Israel did not immediately cease settlement activity, the United States would have to cut economic aid to Israel.
A look at Israel and America's past relations
He then raised his voice and banged twice on the table with his fist. To which Begin responded: “This desk is designed for writing, not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid... we are not to be threatened. I am a proud Jew... you will not frighten me with threats.”
After the meeting, Sen. Daniel Moynihan approached Begin and praised him for his cutting reply. According to Time magazine, Biden jabbed his finger at Begin and warned that US support for Israel was eroding.
Some 34 years later, on December 23, 2016, in a policy departure, the Obama-Biden administration abstained from voting on United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 that demanded an immediate halt to all Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, terming such activity a “flagrant violation” of international law and has “no legal validity”. Israel was requested also to act on the basis of “international humanitarian law.”
Turning on that humanitarian axis, we now have Secretary of State Antony Blinken uttering last Wednesday that “Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7. The hostages have been dehumanized every day since. But that cannot be a license to dehumanize others... we cannot, we must not lose sight of that. We cannot, we must not lose sight of our common humanity.” He added that the US is seeking a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting.
Ominously, he added the policy goal he and his team are pursuing: the “irreversible path to a Palestinian state.”
The next day President Biden declared that Israel’s Gaza response has been “over the top.”
Earlier, he himself went, perhaps, over the top when issuing Executive Order 14115 of February 1, which imposed certain sanctions on four Israelis described, with no proof, of undermining “Peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.”
ACTUALLY, THE order made accusations that there are “high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction [which] has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of... the broader Middle East region.”
As has been made abundantly clear by many, including myself in a January 15 column on these pages, the issue of “settler violence” is a manipulative device lacking factual basis and, to repeat a favorite State Department term, the accusations are “disproportionate” when examining the reality. For example, most of the “settler violence” recorded is actually Jews entering the Temple Mount and circumventing the esplanade in accordance with Halachic restrictions.
Moreover, if the administration is treating the thwarting of its policy goal as a crime to be punished, that is not quite the framework of American justice I was educated to accept, in which actions are investigated by police and based on evidence referred to courts approved by the State Prosecutor’s office.
In fact, the framework of that executive order could be adopted by Israel. Theoretically, borrowing from that action, an Israeli government could sanction BDS activists, antisemites, and banks acting on their financial interests. Is that the type of relationship America wants?
And what happened when, at a press conference, Biden claimed that Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi “did not want to open the gate to humanitarian material to get in” and that he had to convince Sisi to open the crossing? The response was quick in coming.
As Al-Ahram reported the next day, “Egypt’s Presidency has rejected the remarks made by US President Joe Biden.” It added, “From the very beginning, Egypt has opened the Rafah crossing from its side without restrictions or conditions.”
However, now Biden has taken another step to placate the far-Left progressive wing of his Democratic Party.
His new directive authorizes a swift cutoff of military aid to countries that violate international protections of civilians. It allows Secretary of State Blinken 45 days to obtain “credible and reliable written assurances” from foreign recipients of US military aid that are in active conflicts, including Israel, that they are using US military assistance in compliance with international humanitarian law, international humanitarian rights law, and other standards.
Beyond its threatening and negative nature, Israel is forced, seemingly, not only to confront American quasi-legalities but also the realm of international law, which is notorious for bending to international trends.
THIS COMES on top of The New York Times report – based on an authenticated recording – that Jon Finer, the deputy National Security adviser to President Biden, spoke privately to Muslim-American leaders in Dearborn, Michigan saying “We are very well aware that we have missteps in the course of responding to this crisis since October 7” and adding, “I do not have any confidence in this current government of Israel.”
However, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the memorandum does not mean that the administration is “imposing new standards for military aid.” She said its aim was merely to improve transparency.
Israel, it appears, in expecting continued American assistance needs to deal with quite transparent new American diplomatic and financial moves that promote a Palestinian state.
Our government must awake from its dream-like stupor vis-a-vis this current administration seeking to get reelected.
The writer is a researcher, analyst, and opinion commentator on political, cultural, and media issues.