As Democratic split widens on Israel, politics grow treacherous for Biden
| Washington
Of all the challenges President Joe Biden faces, one stands out today as particularly knotty: the war in Gaza and the United States鈥� role as Israel鈥檚 chief foreign backer.聽
President Biden鈥檚 deeply held support for the Jewish state, seven months after a major assault by Gaza-based Hamas terrorists, is being tested like never before. After pausing a shipment of bombs to Israel,聽聽if the Israelis follow through on a full-scale military operation in Rafah. Residents are fleeing the southern Gaza city, considered Hamas鈥� last redoubt, but some 700,000 people reportedly remain 鈥� many of them displaced Palestinians.聽
Mr. Biden鈥檚 threat has alarmed supporters of Israel across the U.S. political spectrum, including in a Democratic Party already riven by the war. On the left, pro-Palestinian protesters hound the president in public with cries of 鈥淕enocide Joe鈥� and have disrupted college campuses across the country for months amid what Mr. Biden calls a 鈥渇erocious surge鈥� in antisemitism.聽
Why We Wrote This
A longtime supporter of Israel, President Joe Biden is having to contend with pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses and elsewhere 鈥� and images that are creating a broader sense of disarray.
With graduation season now in full swing and university leaders cracking down, pro-Palestinian encampments are dwindling. Over the weekend, some commencements saw protests 鈥� including聽聽as vocally pro-Israel comedian Jerry Seinfeld received an honorary degree 鈥� though reports of disruptions were limited. Still, the Democratic convention this summer in Chicago may be fertile ground for a resurgence of unrest.
The potential looms for a schism in U.S.-Israeli relations, if Israel launches a major invasion of Rafah and Mr. Biden follows through on cuts to military aid. Among the president鈥檚 most devoted pro-Israel Democratic allies, the frustration is palpable.聽
Mr. Biden 鈥渁lready doesn鈥檛 have great [poll] numbers on being a strong leader, and when you look like you鈥檙e giving in to protesters, you reinforce that sense of weakness 鈥� and that鈥檚 deeply problematic,鈥� says the leader of a Jewish Democratic organization who asked to withhold his name so he could speak candidly. 鈥淭his is a great lesson on how to alienate everyone.鈥�
In political terms, the problem for Mr. Biden 鈥� locked in a tight reelection race with presumed Republican nominee Donald Trump 鈥� isn鈥檛 necessarily the Israel-Hamas war itself as a driver of votes. Polls show, in fact, that the war ranks relatively low on the list of voter concerns, even among young voters, who prioritize issues such as jobs, inflation, housing, and health care.聽
But the news and social media have been awash with chaotic images of campus protests 鈥� including the takeover and subsequent police clearing of a building at Columbia University. Nearly 3,000 demonstrators have been arrested across the country.
鈥淭he optics are not good; people don鈥檛 like disorder,鈥� says presidential historian George Edwards, a professor emeritus at Texas A&M University. 鈥淭hey see disorder, and don鈥檛 understand what these college students are doing 鈥� camping on campus, not studying. Remember, the typical voter didn鈥檛 go to college.鈥�
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is struggling to help a difficult ally. In two TV interviews Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken strongly criticized Israel鈥檚 behavior in Gaza, where some 35,000 people have died in the war, according to local authorities. The war began last Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants raided southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages.聽
On NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press,鈥� Secretary Blinken decried 鈥渁 horrible loss of life of innocent civilians,鈥� and called on Israel to devise a 鈥渃redible plan鈥� to mitigate civilian casualties before going into Rafah.聽
Mr. Blinken also acknowledged a Biden administration report to Congress on Friday that found the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Gaza likely violated international law, but added that the evidence was incomplete.聽
A cease-fire and return of hostages would be the best way for Mr. Biden to silence his critics, analysts say, but negotiations have proceeded in fits and starts. And Israel鈥檚 expected assault聽on Rafah has cooled expressions of optimism.聽
Mr. Biden has faced criticism, too, for being slow to respond to the campus protests. He finally spoke out May 2 in brief White House remarks, underscoring the right to free speech but insisting that 鈥渙rder must prevail.鈥澛�
The president also delivered a longer address last week in the U.S. Capitol at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony, speaking emotionally about the killing of 6 million Jews during World War II 鈥� a stain on history that Mr. Biden says made him a committed Zionist.聽
That devotion has buttressed Mr. Biden鈥檚 steadfast support for Israel since the Oct. 7 attack 鈥� which many call that nation鈥檚 9/11 鈥� even as his relationship with the Jewish state, under conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, shows unusual strain.聽
For American Jewish leaders, it鈥檚 also a time of great stress amid spiking antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment. They say expressing support for the Jewish people isn鈥檛 tricky at all.聽
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the president realizes,鈥� says Ted Deutch, CEO of the nonpartisan American Jewish Committee (AJC) and a former Democratic member of Congress. 鈥淗e realizes that it鈥檚 not difficult to acknowledge the fear and anxiety that the community is feeling.鈥澛�
Many of the protesters, especially on college campuses, Mr. Deutch says, are marching 鈥渘ot in support of peace but in support of the terrorists who committed atrocities on 10/7.鈥� According to AJC data, he says, nearly half of American Jews have changed their behavior so as not to be identifiably Jewish.聽
Still, divisions within the Democratic Party over the handling of Gaza 鈥� personified on the left by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish 鈥� have complicated life for Mr. Biden, especially in an election year.聽
Senator Sanders has made headlines suggesting Gaza could be 鈥淏iden鈥檚 Vietnam,鈥� an inauspicious comparison to the election of 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson opted not to run for reelection, saddling his successor, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, with an unpopular war. Republican Richard Nixon narrowly beat him.聽
On 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� on Sunday, Mr. Sanders doubled down on the Vietnam comparison, saying, 鈥淚 think a lot of people are very disappointed. ... It鈥檚 hurting [Mr. Biden] politically.鈥� Still, the Vermont senator noted that he鈥檚 still 鈥渟trongly supporting鈥� the president on domestic issues.聽
Conservative political analyst Henry Olsen sees in Mr. Biden鈥檚 handling of the war in Gaza a longstanding tendency to aim for the 鈥渃enter鈥� of his party, wherever that may be at the time.聽
鈥淗e鈥檚 doing what he鈥檚 done throughout his career, which is to look at both sides within a Democratic Party divide and try to occupy the middle,鈥� says Mr. Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.聽聽
鈥淭o that extent, he鈥檚 not satisfying anybody,鈥� he continues. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 not driving anybody irrevocably away, either 鈥� and that might be the best he can expect.鈥�
