The Shift: Pundits say Biden deserves credit on Gaza for some reason

Does the Biden administration deserve some credit when it comes to Israel and Palestine?

That’s certainly not a sentiment that stands out if you look at polling on the issue or attend one of the many protests happening these days, where the president is consistently referred to as “Genocide Joe.”

However, there is a narrative developing among certain segments of the punditry that goes something like this: the Biden administration navigated a very challenging situation and was able to pressure the Netanyahu regime into reducing civilian casualties, allowing aid into Gaza, getting hostages released, and establishing a temporary truce.

A good example of this logic can be found in a recent tweet by journalist David Roberts: “Joe Biden is going to be more politically hurt by his unwillingness to engage in theatrical ‘calls for’ a ceasefire than he is politically helped by the fact that, behind the scenes, *he actually brokered one*. “The US info environment has created perfectly perverse incentives.”

Of course a ceasefire hasn’t actually been brokered, but I digress.

The most robust attempt I’ve seen to push this version of history is a recent Washington Post op-ed from columnist Jennifer Rubin: “Biden’s bear hug worked with Israel.”

Rubin’s piece isn’t just a defense of Biden’s policy, but an attack on the left. She claims that if the administration had called for aid to be conditioned or demanded a ceasefire, no hostages would have been released. In Rubin’s world, Israel is a fiercely independent country that was never going to allow itself it be bossed around by the United States. The situation required a certain level of finesse, and Biden rose to the occasion.

“Despite the assumption of Israel’s critics (including those who mischaracterize the state in the historic homeland of the Jewish people as a ‘colonizer’), the United States has no power to order Israel around as if it were a vassal state,” writes Rubin. “Israel will do what it must to survive. Even without U.S. approval, it has conducted and will conduct military operations that its government considers essential to its national security. Put differently, as with any other country on the planet, Israel will operate in its own defense even in defiance of allies’ wishes.”

This frame is a variation of a take that you probably remember from the beginning of the assault on Gaza. It’s the idea that Washington doesn’t have any control over the situation. We were told the United States had “few options” and that its leverage had real “limits.”

None of this really holds up under the slightest bit of scrutiny. Since 1967 Israel has essentially served as an extension of U.S. military power in the region, and it has consistently reacted to U.S. pressure, albeit with the occasional grumbling.

There’s various examples of this. People often cite George H.W. Bush withholding loan guarantees in 1991 until Israel promised the money wouldn’t be used for settlement expansion. Another moment I’ve seen cited recently is Ariel Sharon pulling the plug on his Gaza offensive in 2004 after pressure from the Bush administration.

However, you don’t have to dig into the historical record for this kind of stuff. Just turn the clock back a mere two years ago. Take a look at Franklin Foer’s recent book on Biden’s presidency, where he explained how the Biden/Netanyahu dynamic worked during Israel’s 2021 assault on Gaza.

After Palestine was pummeled for weeks, Biden told Netanyahu to reel it in. “Hey, man, we are out of runway here,” explained the president. “It’s over.” 

Netanyahu wanted to keep bombing, but reluctantly agreed and why wouldn’t he? Israel gets $3.8 billion in weapons from the U.S. every year, a consistent veto at the United Nations, a billion for Iron Dome, intelligence support, military support, and there’s another $14.3 billion on the way.

Netanyahu knows where his bread is buttered, but he gets to frame the relationship quite differently back home. His pitch for survival is that he’s the only politician who will stand up to Biden and the only one capable of preventing a Palestinian state from emerging.

This all works out great for him, but what is the United States getting? You’re hard-pressed to find an Israel supporter who bothers to make a case for the “special relationship” that involves strategic importance at this point. It’s generally just the usual stuff about “the only democracy in the Middle East” and the longstanding bond between the two countries. It’s existed for many decades, therefore it must continue.

These facts are conveniently left out of every narrative claiming that Biden has done a good job. Something like conditioning aid is supposedly a third-rail issue that can’t be broached without deep, unimaginable consequences, but few attempt to articulate what those might be.

Some will say that the violence of October 7 was always going to generate a disproportionate response, that Israel was dealt its own 9/11, and the United States couldn’t possibly impede the kind of visceral revenge that the society demanded.

For the sake of argument, let’s accept this. The argument from people like Rubin is that Biden made the best out of a bad situation. In other words, more than 15,000 dead Palestinians and Gaza in rubble is the best that this administration could do.

This is supposed to rev people up to reelect Biden in 2024?

Vermont shooting

Three Palestinian students were shot and wounded while heading to a family dinner in Vermont this weekend.

Authorities say Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ahmed, and Kinnan Abdalhamid “were confronted by a white male with a handgun” who shot at least four rounds at them “without speaking.” Two of the students were wearing keffiyehs when they were attacked.

On Sunday afternoon, police arrested 48-year-old suspect Jason Eaton, after a search of his home.

On Twitter, Eaton referred to himself as a “radical citizen,” and his archived posts express criticism of institutions like the IRS and The Fed.

Of course, this attack comes amid widening attacks on Palestine activism and consistent dehumanizing rhetoric targeting Palestinians from pundits and politicians.

The families of the three students have put out a joint statement:

As parents, we are devastated by the horrific news that our children were targeted and shot in Burlington, VT. At this time, our primary concern is their full recovery and that they receive the critical medical support they need to survive. We are extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of our children.

We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime. We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice. We need to ensure that our children are protected, and this heinous crime is not repeated. No family should ever have to endure this pain and agony. Our children are dedicated students who deserve to be able to focus on their studies and building their futures. 

We are grateful to the doctors and nurses who are working tirelessly to save our children’s lives, and to city officials who are giving their full attention to this horrific hate crime in the pursuit of justice.

We appreciate the outpouring of care from our community. We ask that no one make donations to fundraisers unless specifically organized by our families. At this time, we ask for privacy to give us the space to provide our children with the support they need to get through this tragedy.

Democracy Now ran a segment on this “atmosphere of hate,” which included an interview with Vermonters for Justice in Palestine’s Wafic Faour. Faour called out local politicians over their recent positions on Israel and their reaction to the attack.

“When state attorney Sarah George mentioned it’s a hateful event, but it is not hate crime. I mean, if it happened to another community, it would have been called hate crime immediately,” said Faour. “And now they are questioning of the mental capacity of the attacker, when it is — believe me, we feel here if the name of the attacker is an Arab name or a Muslim name, he will be called “terrorist” immediately by the media, and the media will have a field of describing that person. Now the attacker is a white supremacist, and because of the atmosphere and racism against the Muslims, the Arabs and the Palestinians here, in this state and all across United States, we don’t call it as is.”

“At the same time, the mayor of Burlington, who opposed and he promised to reject and to veto any resolution in our progressive city that calls for Palestinian human rights and our rights as a Palestinian American citizen and our solidarity groups to call — to use our First Amendment and to call for the right of BDS, Boycott, Divestment and Sanction. And that happened a year and a half ago,” he continued. “You cannot have a double standard that attack us because we are activists for the rights of the Palestinians, at the same time when something like this, you just bring sorrow and mourning and defend yourself and where you stand. You have to stand with people justice regardless, and you have to be the mayor of all the citizens.”

A vigil was held at Brown University, where victim Hisham Awartani is a student. University president Christina Paxson was shouted off the mic by protesters calling for the school to divest from Israeli apartheid. Professor of History Beshara Doumani read a statement given to him by Awartani:

“It’s important to recognize that this is part of the larger story. This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum. As much as I appreciate and love every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in this much wider conflict.”

“Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services that saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli army. The soldier who shot me would go home and never be convicted. I understand that the pain is so much more real and immediate because many of you know me, but any attack like this is horrific, be it here or in Palestine.”

“This is why when you say your wishes and light your candles today, your mind should not just be focused on me as an individual, but rather as a proud member of a people being oppressed.”

Eaton has pleaded not guilty, and his mother has told the press that he has struggled with mental health issues. The families of the victims have also put out a statement on that:

“We are relieved that Jason Eaton, the man who viciously attacked our sons in a hate-driven shooting, has been arrested and charged, and that a hate crime investigation is underway. We have no doubt that our sons were targeted simply for being Palestinian. There are some reports centered on the defendant’s mental health. We want to make clear, in no uncertain terms:

“Millions of people in America and across the globe struggle with mental health challenges. That does not make them pick up a gun and attack people based on their identity. We do not accept what this wrongfully implies about people who struggle with their mental health, nor do we accept it as justification or context for this heinous, hate-driven crime. Further, we see the clear double standard; when white men commit crimes, they are described as victims struggling with their mental health and testimonies from family members are shared to describe them as good people—people of color are not given this same treatment. Jason Eaton committed an act of horrific violence against our children. One of our kids may never walk again, and they will all live with this trauma for the rest of their lives. Our families are devastated, and our lives forever changed by this hateful attack. And we have no doubt that parents across America, particularly of Palestinian children, are shaken by this attack. We urge those in the media covering the attack on our children to do so responsibly and respectfully by not attempting to turn their attacker into a victim.“

Odds & Ends

???? On November 29, in honor of the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine, South African band, The Mavrix, in partnership with African Artists Against Apartheid, released a song titled “The Ghost who Weeps,” featuring lyrics by Badee Dwaik and Haidar Eid.

???????? ‘Cause and Effect: Chicago City Hall’s pro-Israel resolution and the murder of Wadea Al-Fayoume’

✊  ‘Block the Bombs: Palestine activists protest Boeing facility in Missouri’

???????? ‘Israel wants to pull the U.S. into a regional confrontation, but Biden remains reluctant’

???? From Common Dreams: ‘Gaza vs Sarajevo: Parallels to WWI & American Empire’s Suez Canal Moment Examined’

???????? From Vice: ‘Everything We Know About the Man Accused of Shooting 3 Palestinian Students in Vermont’

???? Excellent analysis of MSNBC and CNN from an anonymous Palestinian researcher: ”Massacred” vs ‘Left to Die’: Documenting Media Bias Against Palestinians Oct 7 – Nov 7′

???????? From The Intercept: ‘America’s unwavering support for Israel has fueled an Iran-backed ‘axis of resistance.”

✌️ Actress Cynthia Nixon, state legislators, and activists launched a hunger strike outside The White House this week to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. “As the mother of Jewish children whose grandparents are Holocaust survivors, I have been asked by my son to use my platform to project as loudly as possible that “never again” means never again for everyone.  As an American, I am here to demand that our President stop funding the mass killing and starvation of thousands of innocent Palestinians, the majority of whom are children and women. President Biden must use this moment to negotiate a permanent ceasefire that will bring all the hostages and political prisoners home and start to lay the foundation for a lasting peace,” said Nixon in a statement.

???????? ‘Jeremy Scahill: Israel’s “Lethal Lie” About Al-Shifa Hospital as Hamas Base Was Co-Signed by Biden’

???????? Alex Kane on Twitter: “Since the start of the truce last Friday, 150 Palestinian detainees have been freed. But in the same time period, Israel has arrested 168 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.”

???????? ‘Biden became ‘Genocide Joe’ thanks to the Israel lobby’

???? ‘Brown University drops charges against 20 students arrested after sit-in over war in Gaza’

???? Eight filmmakers have have withdrawn from an Israeli LGBTQ+ film festival in solidarity with Palestinians. Here’s their statement:

As filmmakers, context is a crucial aspect of our work and guides us in the stories we tell. It is something we cannot overlook.

The context in which the TLVFest LGBTQ+ film festival takes place has led us to request that our films be withdrawn. The festival has for years been sponsored by the Israeli government, including its current most far-right, fundamentalist, misogynist and homophobic incarnation ever, which bears the responsibility for decades of oppression, subjugation, and disenfranchisement of the indigenous Palestinian population.

We cannot look past this, ignoring calls from Palestinians, and have our names and works in any way associated with what Amnesty International has described as an apartheid regime treating Palestinians as an “inferior racial group.”

While we ache with pain at the loss of all innocent life in the current escalation of violence, we cannot ignore its context and its root cause, namely Israel’s ongoing oppression of Palestinians.

We recognize that ending the violence necessarily entails ending the oppression. Our refusal to engage with TLVFest is our contribution to this end, just as principled artists did during the apartheid rule in South Africa. 

???????? Mohammed el-Kurd in The Nation: ‘The Right to Speak for Ourselves’

☀️ ‘Oakland City Council unanimously passes resolution calling for permanent cease-fire in Gaza’

???? ‘Rightwing group pressures states to pass pro-Israel resolutions’

???? War criminal Henry Kissinger is finally dead. His crimes are too vast to summarize in this section of the newsletter, so I’ll share part of a 1988 New York Times article where the former Secretary of State calls for TV reports of Israeli violence to be banned:

Henry A. Kissinger has privately urged that Israel bar television cameras and reporters from the occupied territories as part of its effort to put down violent protests.

Israel should accept the criticism of the press for doing so, according to Mr. Kissinger, and should suppress the Palestinian uprising as quickly as possible with whatever force is necessary to bring an end to a tragic situation.

He gave these views last month at an off-the-record breakfast in which he also urged prominent American Jews to refrain from criticizing Israel for its handling of the crisis. In addition, he expressed reservations about a peace conference and proposed that Israel unilaterally announce that it would give up some territory it seized in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The remarks by Mr. Kissinger, who was Secretary of State in the Administrations of Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, were outlined in a confidential memorandum by Julius Berman, a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and one of about eight people at the breakfast in early February. A copy of the memo was obtained by The New York Times.

Asked about the memo, Mr. Kissinger and Mr. Berman expressed outrage yesterday that the remarks and the memo had been made public. Mr. Kissinger did not disavow the remarks, but insisted that his proposals for excluding news organizations were only a small part of what he had said.

In summarizing Mr. Kissinger’s points, the memo said: ”Israel should bar the media from entry into the territories involved in the present demonstrations, accept the short-term criticism of the world press for such conduct, and put down the insurrection as quickly as possible – overwhelmingly, brutally and rapidly.” ‘Throw Out Television’

Paraphrasing Mr. Kissinger, the memo said: ”The insurrection must be quelled immediately, and the first step should be to throw out television, a la South Africa. To be sure, there will be international criticism of the step, but it will dissipate in short order.

Stay safe out there,

Michael