This week President Joe Biden will travel to the Middle East. He will go to Saudi Arabia where he will attempt to stabilize oil prices by resetting the relationship with our “strategic partner.” This reset will essentially appease Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman by putting the issue of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in October 2018, to bed once and for all. The CIA all but concluded in its investigation of the murder that the Saudi crown prince ordered the killing. While an announcement detailing the expansion of the Abraham Accords to include Saudi normalization of Israel is no longer expected on this trip, the visit will no doubt continue to lay the groundwork for just that, and more (think about Iran.)
But before Biden lands in Saudi Arabia he will visit America’s best friend in the region that practices apartheid. And just in time for his trip, the administration swept the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh under the rug. The investigation was essentially more the same garbage that we see any time Israel commits an atrocity – that is to say if it is determined that the projectile that killed the victim was shot by an Israeli, then conveniently, the act is never able to be deemed intentional. In fact, this time the investigating agency (the State Dept) will only say that it is “likely” that the bullet came from an Israeli gun. No, don’t expect anything remotely encouraging from Biden’s trip.
The most encouraging thing we get have right now is that the board of Ben & Jerry’s is planning to sue Unilever for its decision to sell its Israeli interests to a buyer who will continue to sell its products inside Israeli settlements. When it comes to Israel, half measures won’t work.
Thanks for reading,
Scott Roth
