National Review Online
Thursday,
October 17, 2024
Israel’s ongoing
war against Iran and its terrorist proxies is a political problem for
Democrats. While most Americans sympathize with Israel, a segment of the
Democratic Party is harshly critical of the U.S. ally and, in some cases,
openly pro-Hamas. This contingent is loud and heavily concentrated in the swing
state of Michigan. Ever since the October 7 attacks, President Biden and Vice
President Kamala Harris have sought to thread this needle by talking about
their commitment to Israel’s defense while routinely haranguing Israel for its
conduct of the war and pressuring the nation to operate with more restraint.
This
tension has come into full view over the past week.
On
the one hand, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the U.S.
would be sending an advanced anti-missile system to Israel, along with troops
to operate it, to bolster the defense against Iran. On the other hand, Biden
has been pressuring Israel into a more limited response to Iran’s second
ballistic-missile attack in five months, including publicly opposing an attack
on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In
the midst of this, Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a joint letter
to Israeli officials — promptly released publicly — chastising Israel for not
ensuring enough humanitarian aid in Gaza and warning that if Israel does not
meet the administration’s demands within 30 days, the U.S. could suspend aid to
Israel. Conveniently, this would place the potential aid-suspension date a week
after the November 5 election.
In
other words, Harris can spend the closing weeks of the presidential election
arguing to the pro-Hamas caucus that the administration has put Israel on
notice while still claiming to supporters of Israel that no decision has been
made to suspend aid.
The
substance of the letter places the blame for insufficient aid getting into the
hands of Gazans on Israel, claiming that Israelis are creating too many
barriers to aid entering the strip. Yet Israel must vet aid going in because
Hamas has historically used aid deliveries to smuggle in weapons. Also, Hamas
inhibits the flow of aid within Gaza, looting delivery trucks and hoarding food
and supplies for their own fighters.
The
Austin-Blinken letter also criticizes various steps Israel has taken against
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, even though evidence points to
employees of UNRWA having participated in the October 7 attacks.
While
the cynicism of the Biden and Harris posture toward Israel may have some
rationale in the world of Democratic politics, it makes no sense if the goal is
actually to end the current Israel–Hamas conflict, free the hostages, improve
the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and mitigate the risks of a regional war.
Preventing
Israel from retaliating against Iran with sufficient force will encourage
Iranians to keep sending missiles at Israel either directly or through
Hezbollah, which will force Israel to respond. Threatening Israel with a
suspension of military aid provides an incentive to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar
to dig in, reject cease-fire proposals, and further obstruct the delivery of
humanitarian aid.
It
is a moral disgrace for Biden and Harris to excuse Hamas’s efforts to block
humanitarian aid while threatening to abandon Israel during its righteous war.
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