On Wednesday, President Joe Biden went from supporting Israel’s right to defend itself to de facto siding with Hamas. Biden did so by putting the onus on the Jewish state to wind down its military operations.
Here’s a question: Why is it Israel, a close ally subjected to thousands of rocket attacks by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, that is now expected to stop defending itself?
In what was their fourth phone call in a week, Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he “expected a significant deescalation today on the path to a ceasefire,” according to a White House statement.
This call for deescalation represents a betrayal of America’s closest ally in the Middle East.
Instead of calling for “deescalation,” Biden should unequivocally support Israel’s right to defend itself. Israel has the right to defend its people and territory against the terrorists. No ifs, nor buts. No matter how long necessary military action takes.
While Israel has made significant gains in its recent actions against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, groups that have the overt goal of eliminating the Jewish state, it has more work left to do. For example, Israel’s military has said that it has repeatedly tried to kill Mohammed Deif, the supreme military commander Hamas’s military wing. If Israel has to stop defending itself before Deif is dead, Hamas will have greater means to inflict new atrocities on Israeli citizens. Moreover, the group will be able to regroup more quickly. This will fuel the cycle of Palestinian violence that Israel has endured since its founding.
Following Biden’s call, Netanyahu said he is “determined to continue” Israel’s operations in Gaza. Kudos to the Israeli leader for telling Biden to shove it.
But we need to ask another question here. Would the administration tell Japan or Taiwan to “deescalate” in the event they faced attacks from North Korea or China? Highly unlikely.
Biden must resist calls from liberal activists and Democrats in Congress to go after Israel. The Jewish state has every right to defend itself on its own timeline.
Jackson Richman is a journalist in Washington, D.C. Follow him @jacksonrichman.
