Biden's Israel policy is becoming a potential campaign risk for ever-widening swaths of voters beyond Arab and Muslim Americans, including young, progressive Democrats and even parts of the American Jewish community.
The White House –
The Biden administration is broadcasting mixed signals As he continues to reject growing calls for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, President Joe Biden simultaneously appears to be trying to placate calls from some Americans for a ceasefire in Gaza.
John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the National Security Council, reiterated the administration's longstanding position that a ceasefire at this point would only benefit Hamas.
Israel insists that its military campaign will only end after the terrorist group is killed designated by the United States be eliminated.
“We continue to support humanitarian pauses, but not a general ceasefire at this time,” Kirby said Voice of America during Tuesday's press conference at the White House. “The president hasn’t signaled any changes at all.”
Also read: Blinken and Egyptian president meet as part of efforts to contain escalating Israel-Hamas conflict
Responding to rioters' calls on Monday to call a ceasefire in Gaza, Biden said he had been “quietly working with the Israeli government” and using all the tools at his disposal “to bring them to a meaningful reduction and withdrawal.” to move Gaza.”
“I understand the passion,” Biden said, addressing the group that greeted his speech during a campaign rally in South Carolina with chants of “Cease fire. Now!” interrupted.
The incident is one of the most public demonstrations of how this to date The conflict divides voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November.
Biden's statement was “an insult” to the American people, who are “demanding American leadership” to end the war, said Wendy Pearlman, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at Northwestern University.
“It's almost embarrassing to talk about hushed whispers behind the scenes when the Biden administration's actions toward Israel are being expressed so loudly,” he told the VOAunderscoring US financial, military and diplomatic support for Israel.
Pearlman is one of more than 1,350 American political scientists signed an open letter in which they call on Biden and other American political leaders to push for an immediate ceasefire.
Also read: UN Supreme Court begins session on South Africa's claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
The government has strongly supported the Israeli military operation in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and others.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health Israel killed for more than 23,000 people in the Palestinian enclave, the bloodiest episode of the decades-long conflict.
Biden in a bind
With the level of death and destruction rapidly increasing in Gaza, Biden, who is launching his re-election campaign, is in a bind, said Melani Cammett, a professor of international affairs at Harvard University's Center for Middle East Studies.
“There is still a significant portion of the American public that strongly supports the alliance between Israel and the United States and views any attempt not to support Israel 100% as a threat to that alliance,” he said VOA.
A poll by the Jewish Electorate Institute, an organization that describes itself as an “independent, nonpartisan organization” dedicated to deepening the understanding of American Jewish participation in American democracy, shows that three out of four Jewish voters in the U.S Support Biden's handling of the war.
Also read Poll: 46% of Democrats disapprove of Biden's position on Israel-Hamas conflict
At the same time, Biden's Israel policy is becoming a potential campaign risk for ever-widening swaths of voters beyond Arab and Muslim Americans, including young, progressive Democrats and even parts of the American Jewish community.
On Monday, Americans for Peace Nowa left-wing pro-Israel organization, was the first American Zionist group to call on Israel to “adopt and implement an immediate exit from the war strategy,” a sign that American Jews' support for Israel may be weakening.
“The Biden administration must urge Israel to achieve an immediate cessation of hostilities and move from war to peacemaking,” James Klutznick, the group’s president, said in a statement.
Anti-Zionist and non-Zionist American Jewish groups have criticized Israel's behavior since the beginning of the conflict, but until the APN statement, the rest of the Jewish organizing spectrum had expressed support for Israel's war effort and Biden's support for the campaign.
“The Jewish community is grateful for President Biden’s efforts to support Israel in its response to the horrific Hamas attack on October 7 and to support American Jews in combating rising anti-Semitism,” said Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, in a statement to VOA. JDCA aims to be “the political home and voice of Jewish voters.”
“Jewish voters also support President Biden’s efforts to promote the release of hostages, reduce the death toll in Gaza and ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinians,” he added.
The United Nations is seeking an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict
A Opinion poll The December Gallup poll shows that 38% of Americans believe Israel receives the right level of support, while 36% believe it receives too much support and 24% believe it receives too little support. 40% of Democrats and Independents say the United States supports Israel too much, compared to 26% of Republicans.
Another round of shuttle diplomacy
Biden's comments came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the Middle East for another opportunity Round of travel diplomacy amid signs that the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is spreading to several hot spots in the region.
In one of his sharpest rebukes of Israel, Blinken stressed that “Israel must be a partner with Palestinian leaders” to “support a lasting solution that ends the long cycle of violence.”
Israel, he said, “must stop taking measures that undermine the Palestinians’ ability to govern themselves effectively.”
Beyond Washington's role, economic factors will determine when Israel ends its campaign, said Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“There is a need to demobilize the enormous reserves that have been mobilized since October 7,” Knights said VOA. “In fact, there will probably be a moment in January or February when the Israeli military says, 'We have done enough, and neither we nor the Americans can withstand further political pressure. It's time for a ceasefire.' '””.
Also read What we know: Gaza's past and present
If Israel ends its intense fighting in the first quarter, the war will cost around $13.8 billion in 2024, according to Israel's Finance Ministry. The figure includes the costs of mobilizing 350,000 reserve soldiers.
The Biden administration's request for $14 billion to help Israel has stalled in Congress.
VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell and diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine contributed to this report.
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