US should support, not shame, Israel
Washington Examiner
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President Joe Biden should be leading public opinion on Israel‘s effort to eliminate Hamas, not using his office to shame our close ally. Unfortunately, after a strong start in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist pogrom of Oct. 7, Biden has allowed himself to be dragged into equivocation by the pro-Hamas/Palestinian Left and has thus become a less effective advocate for good than he should be.
Speaking at a fundraiser on Tuesday, Biden observed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was “losing” the world’s support for its campaign in Gaza. He lambasted what he falsely claimed was “indiscriminate bombing” by Israel. This is demagogic and dangerous. Israel is engaged in high-intensity combat operations against Hamas because it has to be, not by choice. It is doing so because Hamas raped, tortured, kidnapped, and murdered 1,200 innocents. That atrocity must never be replicated. Those responsible for it must be killed or otherwise brought to justice.
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Moreover, the reality of Israel’s military campaign is that it is highly discriminating — to use that word in its proper positive sense rather than in the bastardized modern idiom — both proportionate and effective. While the Israel Defense Forces used heavy airstrikes early in northern Gaza, they are now focused on ground combat operations. This is hard fighting in dense urban terrain. It opens IDF units to ambush, and Israel will take more casualties than it would if it were unconcerned about Palestinian civilians. Ask yourself why the IDF is fighting this way.
If Israel simply wanted to destroy Hamas at minimal cost to its own forces, it could level Gaza by employing airstrikes without regard for the safety of noncombatants. Instead, the IDF soldiers are being killed and wounded to reduce Palestinian civilian casualties. The IDF warns Palestinian civilians which buildings and areas are about to be targeted and tells them where they can move to stay safe. As White House national security spokesman John Kirby noted, “That’s basically telegraphing your punches. There are very few modern militaries in the world that would do that. I don’t know that we would do that.”
When Biden undermines Israel with his rhetoric, he does more than insult a key ally. He makes himself a useful idiot for Hamas’s global propaganda campaign.
This centers on boosting the false narrative of Israeli genocide and the collective punishment of Palestinians. This falsehood is shared across much of the Muslim world and increasingly in Europe and within the American Left, which is why Biden is pandering to it. French President Emmanuel Macron, a leading voice for Europe, is now demanding an immediate ceasefire, which would secure Hamas’s hold on power, and Biden’s criticisms encourage others to chime in and escalate these unreasonable and biased demands.
It would be a grievous turn of events were Israel forced into a ceasefire now. Its legitimate objective is to end Hamas’s political and military capabilities completely. It is on its way toward achieving that objective, which is why the Left’s screams for a ceasefire are getting louder. Hamas fighters are surrendering in large numbers. Its leaders are pushing daily for a ceasefire with increasingly conciliatory rhetoric. Its strongholds in Gaza are falling to IDF forces. Its tunnels are being exploded and flooded, killing concealed fighters or forcing them into the open to be taken prisoner. The noose is tightening. But the job is not yet done.
Helping Israel get the job done must be Biden’s top priority.
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What happened on Oct. 7 wasn’t just an unprecedented terrorist attack. It was a window opening onto Hamas’s fascism. The group and its paymasters in Iran continue to plot attacks around the world, with Hamas cells arrested in Germany and Denmark only this week. The targets were apparently Jewish sites. That speaks to something basic. Until this group is vanquished, Jews will not be safe or feel safe. Nor will Palestinians be able to pursue statehood. No state government can negotiate legitimately if its raison d’etre is to destroy another state. The top-line interest is that Israeli security and Palestinian political emancipation both demand the same thing: the annihilation of Hamas.
The U.S. must listen to the concerns of allies such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Where necessary, it should give honest and hard-headed advice to Israel. But Biden needs to wake up to the reality that although war is hell, Israel must win it.