President Joe Biden doesn’t get many things right these days, and he hasn’t done much right in his trip to the Middle East, but at least he defended Israel’s legitimacy.
Considering the truly noxious anti-Israel trend in his own Democratic Party, Biden’s statements amount to a rare instance of this president bucking his party’s base. It may have been only a small act of political courage, but it is welcome nonetheless.
In an interview with an Israeli TV news outlet, Biden was asked what he thinks of the Democratic “voices” who say, maliciously and falsely, that Israel is “an apartheid state.” Anti-Zionism, or at least a skepticism of Zionism, is not an insignificant problem among Democrats — just four months ago, Pew Research found that self-identified Democrats feel more favorably toward the Palestinian people and Palestinian government than they do toward the Israeli government and Israel’s people.
And a not inconsiderable segment of active Democrats supports the radical “Squad” of Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and others who are regularly associated with anti-Semitic people, organizations, or themes.
Against this activist sub-base of the national Democratic Party, Biden this week at least stood for reason and decency. Referring to Democrats who, ignoring all evidence, call Israel an “apartheid state,” Biden said: “There are a few of them. I think they’re wrong. I think they’re making a mistake. Israel is a democracy. Israel is our ally. Israel is a friend.”
Later, he added: “I make no apologies. We’ve provided for my administration $4 billion-plus of a billion for Iron Dome. And we’re working on a laser project to be able to replace Iron Dome. It’s overwhelmingly in our interests that Israel be stable.”
Granted, there is no way, shape, or form in which the Biden administration is more pro-Israel than a Republican one would be. Indeed, Zionist hard-liners such as columnist Caroline Glick accuse Biden of being at least comparatively “hostile” to Israel.
However, we should be thankful for small favors. Biden almost never gets crosswise with his party’s leftist “base.” By this point, almost any backbone from him against his base is an unexpected, salutary development.
And, of course, he is right. Israel is a democracy; Israel is our ally; Israel is a beacon of freedom and human rights in a region known for neither. Any time a U.S. president repeats those truths, the forces of darkness are held at least somewhat in abeyance.
Even if that’s not a great victory, it’s better than nothing.
