While the horrible war between Hamas and Israel has continued, the US has protected Israel politically and militarily. Over the months, President Biden and his administration have claimed several times – at the United Nations and elsewhere – that a new ceasefire deal is imminent and that any resolutions or other decisions that are critical of Israel’s actions against Palestinians are putting the peace negotiations in danger. However, the only imminent thing now seems to be the annihilation of Palestinian society in Gaza. Palestinians are also targeted in other parts of the Palestinian Territories.
Israel has been able to continue its genocidal onslaught in Gaza unabated. According to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Israel dropped approximately 70,000 tons of bombs on Gaza during the first six months of the war between Hamas and Israel – that amount of bombs is more than what was dropped on Dresden, Hamburg and London combined during the World War II (1). Nearly 2/3 of buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed (2). The United Nations estimated last month that it will take 15 years to clear Gaza of almost 40 million tonnes of rubble caused by the war (3). Over 39,000 Palestinians have died and 10,000 Palestinians are missing under the rubble, presumed dead (4). The UN said last week that 86% of the Gaza Strip is now under Israeli evacuation orders or designated as “no-go-zones” (5). The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated last month that about 90% of the population in Gaza have been displaced at least once since the war began (6).
Some political journalists have pointed out that decades ago Israel’s closest allies were much more ready to condemn Israel’s wrongful actions or to withhold their support, if it was necessary. Even though former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was “fiercely pro-Jewish and a powerful enemy of antisemitism”, she wasn’t afraid to condemn Israel’s actions or war crimes. When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, Thatcher wrote to then US President Reagan that there was “an urgent need for a balanced policy” and that “unlimited support for Israel can only lead to growing polarisation and despair in the Arab world”. (7, 8)
In 1982, the Reagan administration warned the US Congress that Israel might have violated its arms agreement with the US when it was using American-made weapons during its invasion of Lebanon. In 1983, Reagan announced that he would not send F-16 jets to Israel until Israel withdrew its forces from Lebanon. He stated, “While these forces (i.e. Israel) are in the position of occupying another country that now has asked them to leave, we are forbidden by law to release those planes.” In 1992, the George H.W. Bush administration threatened to withhold delivery of 10 billion dollars in loan guarantees to Israel if it continued building settlements in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. (9)
The situation is very different, these days. Even though Israel has crossed all “red lines” during its genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza, the Biden administration has only stopped sending destructive 2,000-pound bombs to Israel because of concerns that Israel might use them in densely populated areas in Gaza (10). After Israel assasinated Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr and Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in less than 24 hours last week, the Biden administration decided to send 12 warships and one aircraft carrier to the Middle East to protect its own forces and Israel (11, 12, 13). Director and professor Mohamad Bazzi wrote in The Guardian on Friday (13):
Since October, Biden and his top aides have insisted that their highest priority is to prevent Israel’s invasion of Gaza from spreading into… regional conflagration. But Biden has avoided the most straightforward path to de-escalation on all fronts: for the US administration to withhold some of the $6.5bn in weapons and other security assistance it has promised to Netanyahu’s government since October, and pressure Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire.
When it comes to increasingly far-right Republicans, most of them support Prime Minister Netanyahu and his far-right Zionist government unreservedly, if not fanatically. When the Biden administration halted (temporarily) shipment of some weapons to Israel in May, Republicans tried to introduce Israel Security Assistance Support Act, which would have prevented “federal funds from being used to withhold defense services or weapons to Israel” (14). When former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley visited Israel in May, she scrawled a message “Finish them! America ♡ Israel, Always” on an Israeli artillery like a teenage fangirl (15). In June, Haley also opposed a ceasefire with Hamas by saying that it would be “same as defeat” (16).
Also former Republican governor Mike Huckabee opposed a ceasefire and said that the only solution is that Hamas has to surrender. He compared Hamas to Nazis by saying, “This is like trying to negotiate with the Nazis in World War II. You just don’t. You beat them. You defeat them. You eradicate them.” (17) During this presidential election year, the 2024 Republican Party platform has pledged “to fight antisemitism and to keep Israel safe”. It also wows – in reference to student protests against the war in Gaza – to “DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN”. (18)
Here are observations about some factors that are probably contributing to the developments within the American-Israeli alliance:
The ever-growing influence of the Zionist lobby in the US
In March, Democratic senator and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer criticized Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu harshly and called for new elections in Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu responded, “I think Schumer’s statements are wholly inappropriate. I think we’re not a banana republic. The people of Israel will choose when they’ll have elections, who they will elect and it’s not something that will be forced upon us.” (19)
When asked about Netanyahu’s response and whether the US administration needs to do more in order to speak to the Israeli people directly, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan gave an unusually frank comment, “First of all, inherent in the question is a kind of interesting irony, which is you have the (Israeli) prime minister speaking on American television about his concerns about Americans interfering in Israeli politics. And then your question is should Americans be speaking into Israeli politics, which in fact, we don’t do nearly as much as they speak into ours.” (20)
When you look at the politics and media in the US, it is quite surprising to learn that in a nation of over 330 million citizens, there are only about 8 million Jewish citizens. Large amount of Jewish people tend to be liberal and vote for the Democratic party. According to Jewish Virtual Library statistics, on the average 71% of Jewish voters have voted for Democratic candidates and 26% have chosen Republican candidate in the presidential elections since 1968. During the presidential election in 2020, 68% of Jewish voters voted for Biden and 30% voted for Trump. (21, 22, 23)
Several American pro-Israel organizations and wealthy Jewish pro-Israel individuals have a lot of influence in the American politics. The biggest and probably the most powerful bipartisan pro-Israel organization in the US is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee AIPAC. The largest pro-Israel political action committee is AIPAC PAC. When you look at the website of the AIPAC PAC and the factsheet of the organization, you can see just how influential this organization is.
During year 2022, 98% of AIPAC-backed candidates won in the general elections. 342 members and candidates AIPAC supported were elected to the 118th Congress – so, 342 (out of 535, if I got this total amount right) members of Congress have been supported by AIPAC. According to the factsheet, “100% of Republican and Democratic leadership” was supported by AIPAC. AIPAC helped to defeat 13 candidates “who would have undermined the US-Israel relationship”. In the AIPAC Political Achievement Factsheet 2022 there is a telling declaration: “This political battle has just begun. We know that detractors of the US-Israel alliance will work to rally their supporters to back more anti-Israel candidates in the face of our recent victories — and so we too must redouble our efforts to keep Congress pro-Israel.” (24, 25)
During a recent interview, Jewish investigative journalist Max Blumenthal talked about “pro-war billionaires” who control both major parties in the US (26). In another interview, Blumenthal mentioned two Jewish pro-Israel billionaires who have had a lot of influence in the two parties: Democratic megadonor Haim Saban and Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson (27).
When President Biden decided to pause (temporarily) shipment of some bombs to Israel in May, Saban sent an angry email to the White House. Saban wrote, “Dear President Biden. WE, the US, as you stated numerous times, believe that Hamas should be defeated. We, the US, in this case YOU Mr President, have decided to stop sending munitions to Israel to achieve the goal that WE/YOU have set up for Israel and ouselves. Even beyond Israel, this sends a terrible message to our allies in the region, and beyond, that we can flip from doing the right thing to bending to political pressure. Let’s not forget that there are more Jewish voters, who care about Israel, than Muslim voters that care about Hamas. Bad, Bad, Bad decision, on all levels. Pls reconsider.” (28)
Miriam Adelson, widow of late Sheldon Adelson, has reportedly pledged to spend millions of dollars to support Trump this year. It has also been reported that Mrs. Adelson has been pursuing US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, “where there would be no Palestinian Authority or peace accords”. According to Mrs. Adelson, the West Bank belongs to the state of Israel, and she is a regular donor to Israeli settlement campaigns. (29)
Many progressive and liberal Americans have been highly critical of Zionism and the Zionist lobby. Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote in June that the US Congress votes in support of Israel “from fear” of AIPAC rather than from “conscience” (30). World-famous Canadian writer and intellectual Naomi Klein said during her speech in April that Zionism is “a false idol” (31):
“It is a false idol that has taken the transcendent idea of the promised land – a metaphor for human liberation that has traveled across multiple faiths to every corner of this globe – and dared to turn it into a deed of sale for a militaristic ethnostate.
Political Zionism’s version of liberation is itself profane. From the start, it required the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and ancestral lands in the Nakba.”
“Our Judaism cannot be contained by an ethnostate, for our Judaism is internationalist by nature.
Our Judaism cannot be protected by the rampaging military of that state, for all that military does is sow sorrow and reap hatred – including against us as Jews.”
“We seek to liberate Judaism from an ethnostate that wants Jews to be perennially afraid, that wants our children to be afraid, that wants us to believe the world is against us so that we go running to its fortress and beneath its iron dome, or at least keep the weapons and donations flowing.”
References:
(1) “Amount of Israeli bombs dropped on Gaza surpasses that of World War II” Anadolu Agency 4.6.2024
(2) “Nearly two-thirds of Gaza buildings damaged in war: UN” Arab News 2.8.2024
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2561511/middle-east
(3) “Clearing Gaza of almost 40m tonnes of war rubble will take years, says UN” The Guardian 15.7.2024
(4) “Explainer: Gaza death toll: how many Palestinians has Israel’s campaign killed?” Reuters 27.7.2024
(5) “UN says 86 percent of Gaza now under Israeli evacuation orders” Al Jazeera 29.7.2024
(6) “About 90% of people in Gaza displaced since war began, says UN agency” The Guardian 3.7.2024
(7) “Sunak’s message to Israel: Carry on with the slaughter” Middle East Eye 19.10.2023
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-palestine-war-uk-sunak-message-slaughter-carry-on
(8) “Sunak takes British support for Israel to new extreme” Declassified UK 16.10.2023
https://www.declassifieduk.org/sunak-takes-british-support-for-israel-to-new-extreme/
(9) “A history of U.S. presidents drawing red lines with Israel” Axios 13.5.2024
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/13/us-presidents-red-lines-israel
(10) “US to resume sending 500lb bombs to Israel while withholding 2,000lb bombs, official says” The Guardian 10.7.2024
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/10/biden-resumes-sending-israel-bombs
(11 ) “US Navy assembles 12 warships in Middle East” Middle East Monitor 2.8.2024
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240802-us-navy-assembles-12-warships-in-middle-east/
(12) “US to deploy additional military resources to the Middle East” Al Jazeera 2.8.2024
(13) “The war in the Middle East is escalating fast – and Biden has squandered too many chances to stop it” The Guardian 2.8.2024
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/02/gaza-israel-iran-joe-biden-middle-east
(14) “House passes Republican-backed bill designed to pressure Biden on delivering weapons to Israel” NBC News 17.5.2024
(15) “Nikki Haley writes ‘Finish Them’ on Israeli artillery shell, drawing criticism” Reuters 29.5.2024
(16) “Haley argues against Israel-Hamas cease-fire: ‘The same as defeat’” The Hill 8.6.2024
https://thehill.com/policy/international/4711534-haley-argues-against-cease-fire/
(17) “Huckabee insists US has ‘no valid reason’ to support Israel-Hamas cease-fire” The Hill 8.6.2024
(18) “GOP platform pledges to stand with Israel, deport ‘pro-Hamas radicals’ from US” The Times of Israel 9.7.2024
(19) “Netanyahu To Schumer: “We’re Not A Banana Republic” RealClear Politics 17.3.2024
(20) “White House: We Don’t Interfere In Israeli Politics ‘Nearly As Much As They Speak Into Ours'” RealClear Politics 18.3.2024
(21) “Population estimate 1.7.2023” United States Census Bureau
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045223
(22) “During Gaza war, evangelicals have become Israel’s best friend” Religion News 28.2.2024
https://religionnews.com/2024/02/28/during-gaza-war-evangelicals-have-become-israels-best-friend
(23) “U.S. Presidential Elections: Jewish Voting Record (1916 – Present)” Jewish Virtual Library
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-voting-record-in-u-s-presidential-elections
(24) “AIPAC Political Action Committee” AIPAC PAC
(25) “AIPAC Political Achievements Factsheet 2022” AIPAC
https://aipacorg.app.box.com/s/3bnlheso6zkiicp3znpbrqqdqhku698j
(26) “Interview of Max Blumenthal TRT World 25.7.2024
(27) “Palestine Talks – In conversation with Max Blumenthal (Part 1) TRT World June 2024
(28) “Biden’s big donors fume over Israel criticism” Axios 10.5.2024
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/10/israel-gaza-biden-rafah-donors
(29) “Pro-Israel billionaire Miriam Adelson backs Trump’s campaign, pushes for West Bank annexation” The New Arab 4.6.2024
https://www.newarab.com/news/pro-israel-mogul-wants-west-bank-annexed-after-trump-donation
(30) “AOC: Congress supports Israel out of fear of AIPAC, not ‘conscience'” The Jerusalem Post 20.6.2024
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-806997
(31) “We need an exodus from Zionism” The Guardian 24.4.2024
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/24/zionism-seder-protest-new-york-gaza-israel
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