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Great statement here by LTC Davis. Not as criticism, but was curious, however, about his depiction of growing dissatisfaction amongst the (US) population, “even the Democratic population.” Making me wonder if the other major segment of the US population, the Republicans, are dissatisfied with Biden for his genocidal US policy too, and if so, “why.” Are they clamoring for Biden to cut off arms shipments to Israel? To insist even more strongly that Israel abide by International Law?
But no, in satisfying my curiousity, I found that the Republicans have not “changed their spots.” Their criticism of Biden’s handling of Israel is that he is standing inthe way of Israeli genocide. This can be seen as the “Official Republican policy,” for all factions within the Republican Party, especially the so-called “isolationist camp”: https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/10/29/trump-warns-iran-at-republican-jewish-coalition-conference/
Quote: "Support for Israel is a hallmark of American Republican politics. Still, around 1,500 donors gathered in Las Vegas were seeking firmer expressions of commitment as Israel faces growing criticism from human rights groups for its air strikes in Gaza, a densely populated area.
. . .
"The United States will stand with Israel 100% - without hesitation, without qualification, and any apology. We're not going to be apologizing," Trump said to massive cheers, later adding he would sanction Iran and crack down on pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses.
"If you spill a drop of American blood, we will spill a gallon of yours," Trump said.”
But what did the libertarian Charles Koch Network backed candidate, Nikki Haley, have to say? "Mark my words: Those who would abandon Ukraine today are at risk of abandoning Israel tomorrow," said Haley, who is jostling with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to be the leading Trump alternative.” DeSantis? "DeSantis did not go after Trump directly as he also vowed to support Israel. "Israel values life, and Hamas worships death," said DeSantis."
This quote from the Haaretz article below, gets things wrong in the last clause: "The Republican Party has become increasingly defined by its divisions on foreign policy, with Israel playing a central role in the rift. While the GOP's more traditional, hawkish wing has advocated unwavering support for the country and its war in Gaza, the more isolationist camp has advocated for the U.S. to leave Israel to fight its own battles."
Unfortunately, that last clause is misrepresentative of the so-called “isolationist camp.”
Quote: "Ogles responded bluntly: “You know what? So, I think we should kill ’em all if that makes you feel better. Hamas and the Palestinians have been attacking Israel for 20 years. It’s time to pay the piper.”
"Finally, Ogles turned towards a camera and uttered a final comment before walking away: “Death to Hamas!”
We’re seeing him get his wish, in his inclusive comment that the "Palestinians” have been attacking Israel for 20 years. So logically, deserve the same fate as Hamas itself.
"Miller further called on the Biden administration “to get out of Israel’s way and to let Israel do what it needs to do best,” without being measured.
“In my opinion, we have been measured since 1948, and Israel has been measured since 1948 in their approach,” Miller said. “I believe that they need to do what they need to do in order to keep Israelis safe,” he continued, referring to the 1948 creation of the state of Israel.”
Netanyahu knows this full well, just as he did in 2016 in helping get Trump elected to deliver to Israel all that its fascist factions wanted. And will again, starting in 2025, as the Heritage Foundation promises in its Project 2025.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has being going to lengths to dash any White House hopes that a change in rhetoric will put more pressure on Israel to conclude the war.
"From the beginning of the war, I have been leading a diplomatic campaign whose goal is to deflect the pressure to end the war prematurely," he said this week.
Mr Netanyahu seems finely attuned to the US domestic political situation, as well, and says the American public overwhelmingly supports his cause.
All of this suggests Mr Biden has few easy means to extricate himself from his current political predicament.
Republicans Are Looking at Netanyahu for How to Combat Biden's Post-war Gaza Plans
With the Biden administration pushing Israel to wrap up its ground invasion in Gaza and looking toward a possible future with the Palestinian Authority in charge, U.S. Republicans are falling into rank, GOP style
President Joe Biden pauses as a protester interrupts him at an event on the campus of George Mason University in Manassas, Va., Tuesday, January 23, 2024.Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
WASHINGTON – Leading Republicans in Washington are increasingly taking cues from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in opposing the Biden administration's vision for a post-war Gaza, taking direct aim at the Palestinian Authority and placing billions of dollars in emergency aid at risk.
The Republican Party has become increasingly defined by its divisions on foreign policy, with Israel playing a central role in the rift. While the GOP's more traditional, hawkish wing has advocated unwavering support for the country and its war in Gaza, the more isolationist camp has advocated for the U.S. to leave Israel to fight its own battles.
While this rift hasn't significantly affected Israel's standing within the party, the general divisions have dramatically impacted efforts to reach a bipartisan compromise on border security and immigration.
Such a deal would ostensibly clear a path toward the package providing more than $14 billion in emergency aid to Israel, though former U.S. President Donald Trump is egging on House Republicans in an intraparty feud that could potentially derail efforts to provide the aid.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a primary election night party in New Hampshire, January 23, 2024.Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais /AP
This mirrors the major challenge caused by House Speaker Mike Johnson last year when he attempted to condition the standalone aid to Israel on cuts to the Internal Revenue Service. This was met with unanimous opposition from Democrats, whose efforts to pass aid were blocked by Republicans who insisted on it including new border security stipulations.
Republicans have been united in blanket criticism of Congressional Democrats, particularly progressive members who disapprove of Israeli policy but also a growing number of center-left Democrats wary of Netanyahu's policy.
Criticism of the Biden administration has centered on its Iran policy, with some members and key party stakeholders offering rare praise for U.S. President Joe Biden's support for Israel in the weeks and months following October 7.
As the administration has begun pushing Israel toward the war's next stages, urging it to better mitigate civilian casualties and empowering the Palestinian Authority over current and future considerations, mainstream Republicans are quickly speaking out and falling into partisan ranks.
The Republican Jewish Coalition offered its first official criticism of Biden since October 7 earlier this week, with National Chairman Norm Coleman and CEO Matthew Brooks saying they were "deeply troubled by the Biden administration's growing pressure on Israel to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Palestinians gather near the rubble of a family home, demolished by Israeli forces earlier during a raid in Hebron in the West Bank on January 21, 2024.Credit: Mosab Shawer- AFP
The Republican Jewish Coalition offered official criticism of Biden this week. "The administration is wrong to assume that Jewish Americans support its pressure on Israel. We urge members of Congress to use all the tools at their disposal to prevent the nightmare scenario of a terrorist state on Israel's borders."
"The Biden administration vaguely admits that the Palestinian Authority is not currently up to the job of administering a Palestinian state when it says that the PA must be 'reformed' or 'revitalized.' But let's be clear: As long as the Palestinian Authority is still rewarding terrorist murderers through its massive 'pay-for-slay' subsidies and refusing to condemn the October 7th atrocities, it remains unfit to administer a Palestinian state," they said.
"The Biden administration is wrong to assume that Jewish Americans support its pressure on Israel. We urge members of Congress to use all the tools at their disposal to push back against the Biden administration's misguided efforts and prevent the nightmare scenario of a terrorist state on Israel's borders," they added.
This follows Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's sharp rejection of the Biden administration's "renewed fixation with rushing to a two-state solution," mirroring Netanyahu's own recent rejections.
"Why would any of us think it's a good idea to reward Hamas and the Palestinians who rejoiced on October 7th with a state?" McConnell asked. "Who, I might ask, do our colleagues expect is ready to govern such as state? We know the answer is not Hamas. Every time those terrorists have faced a choice between improving the lives of Palestinians and taking the lives of Israelis, Hamas has chosen the latter," he said.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell takes part in the Republican Caucus lunch press conference at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, January 17, 2024.Credit: Leah Millis/Reuters
"Hamas certainly doesn't want a two-state solution. It wants to destroy Israel 'from the river to the sea,'" McConnell added.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, widely recognized as the most stalwart pro-Israel advocate within the Republican Party, made waves last month when he stressed that a two-state solution would be a demand for Israel's eventual regional integration.
"We have two choices: continue the death spiral, or use October 7 as a catalyst for change. I think the Arabs are going to demand some form of two-state solution to recognize Israel. I think Israel's going to demand security buffers different than before, and they need to make those demands. I don't know how this ends, but I'll tell you this. If we don't get this right this time, we're talking about another generation of just tit-for-tat death," he said on NBC's Meet the Press.
Days later, however, he clarified that the Palestinian Authority cannot and should not play a role in any future solution.
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks during a news conference on border security on January 17, 2024 in Washington, DC.Credit: Kent Nishimura - Getty Images via AFP
"I would not invest 15 cents in a future Palestine where Hamas is still standing," Graham told ABC's This Week. "Their leaders need to be killed and captured, and I wouldn't invest 15 cents into the Palestinian Authority regarding a new Palestine. [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas' Palestinian Authority is dead to me. So, when we get to the day after Israel has ceased military operations because Hamas has been destroyed, the new Palestine cannot have Hamas, and it cannot be governed by the PA."
No Republicans co-sponsored a Democratic resolution to the national security supplement reiterating U.S. support for a two-state solution, largely motivated by Netanyahu's recent comments. 49 Democrats backed the motion, with only Sens. Joe Manchin and John Fetterman not joining.
Republicans have also taken Israel's lead on criticizing the Biden administration's continued support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Top GOP lawmakers have demanded clarification on reports that Hamas is diverting humanitarian aid from the UN agency, which is accordingly failing to prevent such incidents, despite the U.S. being UNRWA's single largest donor.
A truck, marked with UNRWA logo at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, November 2023.Credit: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
Republicans have also taken Israel's lead on criticizing the Biden administration's continued support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
"UNRWA does important work. They are doing a lot of heavy lifting right now in terms of trying to get food, water, medicine to the people of Gaza up and down the strip. They're doing a lot of work and they're doing it in harm's way," said U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby earlier this month in response to the criticisms.
"You can't hold them accountable for the depredations of Hamas and the way Hamas uses civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, for command-and-control and storage of weapons and holding of hostages," he added.
According to the director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, nine Palestinians were killed and 75 were wounded on Wednesday when two tank rounds hit the building that was sheltering around 800 people in southern Gaza. The U.S. soon issued a rare statement expressing its "grave concern" with the reports.
"The United States is unwavering in our support for Israel's right to defend itself, consistent with international humanitarian law, against Hamas terrorists who hide among the civilian population and want to annihilate the State of Israel," said National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson. "But Israel retains a responsibility to protect civilians, including humanitarian personnel and sites."
On Friday, the U.S. announced it is suspending funding to UNRWA due to an investigation into 12 employees suspected of involvement in the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas. It has since been joined by the United Kingdom, Australia, Finland, Italy, and Canada.
