Biden Betrays Israel

And in the process, he's destroying his presidency

“Trust me, I’ll always have Israel’s back—if only to stick a knife in it

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There’s something fascinating in the spectacle of a politician systematically and deliberately self-destructing. Take Kirsti Noem. She was building a reputation as a politician with a future as the governor of South Dakota: young, attractive, articulate, a solid conservative. But signs of trouble began to emerge. In 2021, Noem blew the political equivalent of a six-inch putt by vetoing a bill banning “transgender women,” i.e. men, from participating in women’s sports. This infuriated conservatives and led others to question her political judgement. Then last year allegations emerged that Noem had had an extramarital affair—never a good look on the resume of a family-values conservative. That her paramour was former Trump apparatchik Corey Lewandowski only sweetened the deal for journalists always on the lookout for an opportunity to torpedo a rising star of the GOP. (For the record, Noem maintains that she and Lewandowski were never lovers.)

But these whoopsies were just the overture to an epic meltdown. In her soon-to-be-published memoir, Noem related the tale of how she put down an unruly pet dog—not by having it euthanized but by dragging the poor mutt into the woods and shooting it. And that wasn’t all. The memoir also included her account of a meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a meeting that never actually happened. And Noem’s attempt to clean up these messes only made things worse.

You have to ask: What was Kristi Noem thinking? These, after all, were not just unfortunate turns of events. She did it to herself, exhibiting spectacularly bad judgement, not to mention transparent mendacity. And in an instant, Noem went from politician with a bright future to self-serving, fact-challenged twerp.

But a new standard in the category of political malpractice has now been set by our ridiculous president, Joe Biden, in his betrayal of Israel. This showed yet again that he’s a man of bad character with no moral compass. But leaving aside the moral issues connected with the abandonment of a democratic allay for the benefit of a genocidal terrorist death cult, the sheer willful stupidity of Biden’s decision staggers the imagination.

Let’s first dispose of the argument that Biden and his minions are motivated by humanitarian considerations. The decision to cut off military aid to Israel is based on purely political considerations. Not only the broad American Left but the Democratic Party is shot through with “anti-Zionism,” which is to say antisemitism. Biden took the action he did to appease this cohort of the Left, which hates the Jewish state and wishes to see it destroyed. It’s an election year, after all, and he fears to lose the jihad vote.

But this political calculation is stupid and self-destructive. Biden is trying to have it both ways. He claims that he still has Israel’s back, and that the US will still supply it with “defensive” weapons. Only those weapons that Israel could use to finish off Hamas will be withheld. In this way, Biden alienates everybody. The anti-Zionist activists will only be emboldened to demand more such concessions, while Israel’s supporters in America will denounce him. As for Israel itself, Biden’s betrayal won’t deter it from destroying Hamas. On the contrary, it will reinforce the Israeli government and people’s conviction that the war must now be won at all costs, to ensure that Hamas does not survive and reestablish its authority in Gaza.

Biden’s tender solicitude for the Palestinians of Gaza is thus contradicted by his actions and their effects. Blocking the transfer of precision-guided munitions to Israel will neither stop the war nor reduce civilian casualties. On the contrary, it will prolong the war and increase the body count. How this would benefit Biden politically is, shall we say, none too obvious. But the President and his people seem convinced that it will.

As for America’s long-range Mideast policy, it was in shaky condition before the President’s turn on Israel and now it can only be described as a total shambles. For unless Hamas is removed as a factor—which Biden seems anxious to prevent—the fabled two-state solution becomes a dead letter. How can there be an independent Palestinian state next door to Israel with a government in which Hamas has a presence? Has anybody in the misbegotten Biden Administration taken a moment to ponder that question?

Then there’s the matter of America’s credibility in the eyes of other nations. The President has just demonstrated that this country’s word is not its bond. Sure, Uncle Sam will have you back—until that becomes inconvenient. Then you’re on your own. This from a president who has lambasted his predecessor for…treating America’s allies with disdain and contempt. Trump could take lessons from Biden on that score.

Finally, as a matter of election-year politics, the President’s betrayal of Israel is a gift to his principal challenger, the aforementioned Donald J. Trump. It will be recalled that in 2019 the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives impeached the former president for…withholding congressionally approved and mandated military aid from an ally to further his political ends. And now here’s Biden, doing exactly the same thing! Added to that is the glaring obviousness that his actions are a lifeline to Hamas and a concession to the anti-Zionist goons in this country, who add “Death to America” to their calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

I really don’t mind that Joe Biden is destroying his presidency with this politically suicidal belly-crawl in the direction of antisemitic bigots and murderous terrorists. Screw him. Biden has always been a sorry excuse for a human being: a liar, a jerk, a clueless idiot. He, his minions, and his supporters deserve the opprobrium and disgrace that’s coming their way. No, I don’t mind that. But I mind very much that his stupidity, vanity, and pusillanimity will have terrible consequences for America and the world.