This is the way I myself have been feeling in regards to Biden and Blinken, but not quite so eloquently. The thought of Biden being reelected to inflict four more years of damage on America and Israel makes me ill.
Here is Joshua Namm's column so you can appreciate it and share it:
"Would you have thought on Oct. 8 that Israel would withdraw two
and a half divisions of its soldiers from northern Gaza while Hamas
continued to launch attacks into Israel from areas in Gaza formerly
controlled by the Israeli Defense Forces?
"Would you
have thought that over 100,000 Israeli evacuees of the north and south
would still be refugees in their own country AFTER those divisions of
soldiers were evacuated from the theater of war?
"Did you think that Israel would allow regular attacks on Jews from Hezbollah in northern Israel?
"Did you think that since 10/7 Israel would allow 2,600 attacks on Jews
by Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria? And did you think the
media would have reported this as “settler violence” blaming Jews?
"Would you have thought that 136 Israeli hostages would still be in captivity this far into the war?
"Or
that Israel would have chosen not to engage Hezbollah to destroy its
estimated 150,000 missiles pointed at Northern Israel, even after it
fired a cruise missile at a Jewish home, murdering a mother and her son?
"I could go on.
"If
you are as shocked as I am by all this, you should also be able to
accept that the reason is the Israeli government’s bizarre predilection
to do as told by the United States. And when I say, “the United States,”
I mean Joe Biden and the Biden administration.
"Joe
Biden is, unlike the wishful narrative that has been in place since
Oct. 7, not supporting Israel, not a friend of Israel, and not a friend
of the Jewish people.
"This is not a “Democrat vs.
Republican” issue, but an issue of how much more suffering and death
(G-d forbid) are Jews supposed to tolerate?
"In the aftermath of the worst attack on our people since the Holocaust, we are witnessing a historic, global,
resurgence of antisemitism, while America demands that the people
responsible for those attacks be rewarded with a state, while drawing a
moral equivalence between both the suffering of Jews after 10/7 and
Arabs experiencing the aftereffects of their support of Hamas and
Palestinian terrorism.
"That moral equivalence
extends to the United States Secretary of State comparing the
intransigence and behavior of Palestinians to that of Israelis post
10/7.
"That is in addition to the usual patronizing, demeaning, and dangerous lecturing of Israel by the United States.
"Israel
is a sovereign nation with a more than 3,500-year history. Our culture
is one of the oldest on this planet. Without it, Western Civilization
would be unimaginable. Yet, we sit here, day after
day, listening to Washington lecture Jerusalem as though the singular
Jewish state was a misbehaving child.
"Joe Biden has
engaged in this repeatedly in his endless warnings to Israel that it
heed “international norms,” “the rule of law” and “rules of warfare,” as
though Israel is not the Middle East’s only democracy, but the
cartoonish monster depicted by dishonest progressives and other Hamas
enthusiasts. Israel does more to protect “civilian” life than it should.
If you disagree with that statement, then you must at least acknowledge
the hypocrisy of America constantly admonishing Israel not to engage in
behavior that it does not display, but America routinely does (as it
did continually in Iraq and Afghanistan).
"For the
record, I have zero problem with America fighting a war, even if that
war requires World War II levels of destruction. When you’re fighting
evil, as I said in a previous column, it must be wiped out completely.
"Israel
is attempting to wipe out a despicable evil. Constant lectures by Biden
and his administration only demonstrate that Israel is protecting
America (and the West) far more than America is protecting Israel.
"It
is obvious that the antisemitic American far left is a thorn in Biden’s
side, not because he loves Israel, but because in 2024 he cannot
appease the Hamas-loving far left, and keep the usual massive donations
rolling in from normative Israel-loving Democrats. Victory in Gaza is no
longer compatible with his desired victory in 2024’s presidential
election.
"One of his favorite maneuvers since the war in Gaza began has
been to send surrogates, namely Secretary of State Antony Blinken and
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, to Israel to lecture Israelis like
they are wayward children who just won’t do what’s good for them, as
though it were the wicked child of the Passover Haggadah.
"Most recently, Blinken was in Israel
on Jan. 9. It was his fifth trip to Israel since the war began (a sixth
trip was announced January 30). His main purpose was to push Israel for
an “imminent transition” to the “next phase” of the war. Very
tellingly, he also reportedly demanded that Israel surrender, telling Benjamin Netanyahu that there was “no military solution to Hamas.”
"In other words, Israel, a sovereign nation,
with the most to lose, is being told (yet again) how to conduct a war
that it, and it alone, knows best how to fight. It is important to note
that Biden himself has been pushing Israel to “scale down” the war on
Hamas since last year.
"As
for the idea of the “next phase,” that decision should be up to
Israel’s military experts (the kind that actually have the stomach for
victory) and the War Cabinet. The ONLY goal should be total victory.
"As my WWII veteran father would have said: “Who the hell is Anthony Blinken to be lecturing the Israelis about how they fight a war???”
"I agree with you Dad.
"Blinken
began his remarks by comparing the suffering of Israeli hostages held
captive by Hamas to the suffering of Gazan families because of the war.
The moral idiocy of that comparison should be obvious. But perhaps the
fact that over 70% of Gazans supported violent acts against Jews before the war; after the atrocious acts of Oct. 7,
a full 74% of Palestinians in Judea/Samaria and Gaza supported the
attacks , while 98% felt “pride” in the war, and 77% wanted to “destroy
Israel” for a Palestinian state, cements that point.
"In addition, hundreds of Gazans, not part of Hamas, took part in the attacks on our people. As a former hostage put it, “Innocent civilians were involved in every phase” of the October massacre.
"Blinken
drawing a moral equivalence between the suffering Jewish hostages and
the suffering of Gazans should make a moral person sick. And as if that
wasn’t bad enough, Blinken never mentioned the sexual assault,
starvation, and torture of Israeli hostages.
"Instead, he commented on the “acute food insecurity” of Gazans.
"He
went on to demand that Israel continue to ensure that “aid” gets to
Gaza. Keep in mind that this “aid” includes the food and fuel that allow
Hamas to continue operating their rat’s nests, I mean tunnels, in which
they continue to hold Israeli hostages and attack IDF soldiers. The aid
in question is distributed by UNRWA, a United Nations agency run almost
entirely by … Hamas.
"In fact, a UNRWA employee was credibly accused
of holding one of the hostages. This is in addition to tunnels found
under UNRWA schools, and weapons found in UNRWA classrooms. It’s directors are all Hamas operatives.
"Blinken
even praised the agency: “The United Nations is playing an
indispensable role in addressing the immense humanitarian needs in Gaza.
There is simply no alternative. … U.N. personnel … in Gaza are
demonstrating extraordinary courage by continuing to provide lifesaving
services in what are extremely challenging conditions.”
"His comments came before the allegation was made public that Israel passed intelligence
to the United States demonstrating that 12 UNRWA employees took part in
the 10/7 pogrom. Meaning, the United States was aware of that
involvement. Meaning that, at the very least, Biden knew about it before
he sent his guy out to publicly and effusively praise the organization.
"UNRWA itself knew
that Hamas was building tunnels beneath its schools, explicitly for the
purpose of murdering Jews, as fat back as 2008. All of Gaza also knew.
"A second, almost as atrocious,
low point in Blinken’s speech was his reiteration of Biden
administration policy that Israel not allow Gazans to leave Gaza. In
what war is the population of the war-torn country not allowed to leave?
Much like the U.N. has been falsely claiming refugee status for
Palestinians for 75 years so that they can continue to be used as
political pawns, the United States’ refusal to allow Gazans to leave
serves only one purpose: to make it harder for Israel to “de-Nazify” the
radicalized Palestinian population, to allow whatever remains of Hamas
to survive, and to add fuel to its obsession with a “two- state solution.”
"The
U.S. wants all areas depopulated because of the war to be repopulated,
thereby making it impossible for Israel to repopulate its southern
towns/cities. So effectively, a security zone with Gaza would mean a
reduction in Israel’s territory.
"Blinken also
demanded that no action be taken in the North against Hezbollah,
effectively turning Northern Israel into a similar security zone,
precluding 80,000 Israelis there from returning to their homes.
"Lastly, he invoked the atrocious line about a “cycle of violence” and reaffirmed the administration’s demand for a “two- state solution.”
"It's not a “cycle of violence” when thousands of animalistic, sub-human, monsters murder, brutally rape,
and mutilate thousands of civilians, followed by a war targeting those
responsible for the atrocities. And, at this point does anyone seriously
believe that a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, in the heart of
central Israel, plus territory in Gaza, wouldn’t be a death sentence for
Jews?
"More recently, Blinken was in Davos,
Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. While there, he was
interviewed by the New York Times’ resident Israel hater, Thomas
Friedman. Incredibly, Blinken seemed to say that the Israelis of today
are the terror loving Palestinians of yesterday:
“The
profound difference now, I think, is in the mindset of leaders
throughout the Arab world and in Muslim countries, and in a way it’s a
reversal, it’s a flip, as you know so well better than anyone. When
in previous times we came close to resolving the Palestinian question,
getting a Palestinian state, I think the view then – Camp David, other
places – was that Arab leaders, Palestinian leaders, had not done enough
to prepare their own people for this profound change. I think a challenge now, a question now: Is Israeli society prepared to engage on these questions? Is it prepared to have that mindset?”
"Did you get that? After thousands of Israelis
were murdered, raped, mutilated, and wounded, America’s Secretary of
State is blaming Israel for not being as gracious as the Arabs who
murdered us for decades before 10/7.
"Israel, after
decades of giving up territory, not utterly destroying Hamas and
Hezbollah, not attacking Iran and its proxies (another demand of the
Biden administration), prioritizing Arab civilian life at the cost of
IDF soldiers, all while 136 Israelis are still being held hostage and
brutalized, is not enough for this administration.
"Israelis have the wrong “mindset.”
"Some friend to Israel.
Lest
you want to separate Blinken’s words and policy from Biden, remember
that the secretary of state is the nuanced voice of the president and is
directly representing his policy.
"Obviously, Biden
and his surrogates want a Palestinian state, no matter the cost. A state
which would be yet one more vassal of Iran (which is a subject for
another article), allowing it to become the major power in the region.
Is that what you want on the border of Jerusalem, miles, and sometimes
yards, from Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Netanya and dozens of other Jewish
population centers?
"The cost to Israel, Jews worldwide, and all civilized people, would be massive.
"If you think that rewarding Palestinians for their atrocious crimes against the Jewish people is far-fetched, there were reports on February 1 that the Biden administration is considering recognizing Palestinian statehood.
"That
represents a serious policy change on the part of the United States.
The previous position was always that Palestinian statehood can be
achieved only through direct negotiations between Israel and the Arabs.
"There
is more, including Biden’s sanctioning of Israelis engaged in supposed
“settler violence.” The move, which requires no actual participation in
violence, would deny Israelis a visa to enter the country, and cut off
access to the U.S. financial system.
"All of this is based on a myth, and has been deemed a “blood libel” by Israeli officials in the past. Which is why 23 members of the Knesset wrote to Biden in December demanding an explanation for his actions.
"Before the attacks,
this is the man who included the antisemitic Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a “partner” in creating his
“strategy to combat antisemitism.”
"The “strategy” mentioned “Judaism” seven times and “Islamophobia” 21 times.
"The
bottom line: None of what I have written about here spells out
“friend,” “friendship,” or even “mildly concerned acquaintance.” Biden,
and his administration, are doing their very best to put Israel at risk.
"That means that he is putting all of us at risk.
"After the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Shoah, a real friend would do exactly the opposite.
"Biden behaves like a man who hates Israel. And THAT is undeniable.
"Never give in. Never give up.
"Am Yisrael Chai."
A version of this article originally appeared in Orange County Jewish Life.
Joshua Namm is a longtime Jewish community pro, passionate Israel advocate, and co-founder/co-CEO of Moptu,
a unique social platform designed specifically for sharing articles and
dedicated to the principle of free speech. He can be reached at
josh_namm@hotmail.com.
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