Biden doubles-down on his stance toward Israel, calling himself a Zionist. 'You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist,' he said in a Monday interview.
U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview aired Monday that he "denied [Israel the] offensive weapons they were using – 2000-pound bombs and the rest – because I made it real clear they cannot use weapons we provide them and use them in civilian areas." Instead, Biden said, "I sent defensive weapons. That's why I put together this plan."
The interview with Speedy Morman for Complex's '360 With Speedy' was recorded the day before the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
The interviewer then asked Biden if he identifies as a Zionist, and his one-word response - "Yes" – was greeted by silence.
"You'll be able to make a lot out of that because people don't know what a Zionist is," the president added. "Do you know what a Zionist is? If there weren't an Israel, every Jew in the world would be at risk. There's a need for it to be strong and a need for Israel to be able to have, after World War II, the ability for Jews to have a place that was their own. You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist and a Zionist is about whether Israel is a safe haven for Jews because of the history of how they've been persecuted."
Biden went on to remind the interviewer that "I'm the guy that did more for the Palestinian community than anybody. I'm the guy that opened up all the assets, I'm the guy that made sure that I got the Egyptians to open the border to let goods and medicine and food through. I'm the guy that's been able to pull together the Arab states to help the Palestinians with food and shelter."
As for Hamas, the president described the organization as "a bunch of thugs. I was over there about eight days after the massacre and saw photos of mothers and daughters being tied with a rope together and kerosene poured on their heads and burned to death. Nothing's happened like that since the Holocaust and it's just not appropriate."
Asked why a Muslim should vote for him, Biden replied: "The same reason why Arab Americans in the region support me. It's the best way to keep peace and the best way to put things together and make sure there's a two-state solution in the region. I've been a strong supporter of that and I've gotten significant support from Arab countries."
"I got a call from the Saudis; they want to fully recognize Israel if the U.S. will give them a guarantee that we'll give them weapons if they're attacked by other Arab nations – one just around the corner – and we'd put a civilian nuclear facility there and our military would operate it so they could move away from fossil fuels. That's a big game-changer for the whole region."
Palestinian-American activists sharply decried U.S. President Joe Biden's claim that he has "done more for the Palestinian community than anybody."
Layla Elabed, leader of the Uncommitted National Movement, said that "Biden claiming he's done the most for Palestinians is like an arsonist taking credit for tossing a splash of water on the fire he's still fueling."