Several longtime allies of President Joe Biden are worried the president has tied himself too close to Israel in the United States’ response to the Israel-Hamas war, according to The Washington Post.
Since the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Biden has pledged the United States’ unwavering support to the Jewish state, offering to provide aid. Democrats have criticized Biden’s close backing of Israel, calling out the communication blackout in Gaza, the increase in Palestinian civilian deaths and the speed at which humanitarian aid is arriving in Gaza, The Washington Post reported Sunday. (RELATED: Biden Says It Would Be ‘Big Mistake’ For Israel To Occupy Gaza, Hamas Doesn’t Represent Palestinians)
Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal is worried Biden’s response is out of touch with the “broader American electorate” and may cost the president votes, especially among younger party members, The Post reported.
“He has been courageous on the domestic front,” Jayapal said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “The president needs to be just as courageous on this issue.”
“I am certainly concerned about his approach to this,” she continued. “I want President Biden to be the next president and he needs to call us to a higher moral place.”
Young Democrats are threatening to withhold their vote from Biden ahead of the 2024 election over his support for Israel, with some saying they feel “betrayed” by the president. Michele Weindling of the Sunrise Movement, a climate activist group that worked to garner support for Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, said she believes if Biden continues to heavily back Israel, he could lose their support, along with that of other young Democrats.
A digital billboard welcomes US President Joe Biden to Israel on October 18, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Members of the Democratic Party are worried Biden’s close ties to Israel run the risk of the United States taking responsibility for how the country carries out its war on Hamas, The Post reported. More than two dozen senators have urged the president to deliver more humanitarian aid to Gaza while working with the United Nations (UN) organization and other neighboring countries, such as Egypt.
Previously, Biden announced $100 million of United States funds to provide humanitarian aid to the West Bank and Gaza, though the UN organization had said a few days earlier that its fuel and medical supplies meant for Palestinian refugees were allegedly stolen by Hamas, according to the Times of Israel.
“I am deeply concerned about the severing of communications in Gaza. There already is a dire humanitarian situation, including dangerous proximity to military operations for civilians and insufficient amounts of food, water, medicine, and fuel.” Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz said in a Twitter post.