Gaza and Israel are now US election issues
https://arab.news/mhjaa
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress last week left much to be desired. It was surreal; US lawmakers, mostly Republicans, gave him dozens of standing ovations even as he painted an unrealistic and untruthful image of Israel’s war on Gaza. Practically no civilian deaths in Gaza, he claimed, but even as he spoke the death toll there crossed the 39,000 mark, with thousands more unaccounted for. Hamas, the UN, aid agencies and independent observers were all lying — but not Netanyahu.
It was a pathetic, immoral and embarrassing display; a hubristic, self-deluded and demagogic outpouring unbefitting a democracy.
“Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States,” former Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi posted on X after the speech.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid blasted Netanyahu for failing to commit to a hostage deal during his address, while thousands of Israelis held protests in Tel Aviv denouncing the government’s failure to bring the captives home.
As Netanyahu was reveling at Capitol Hill, thousands of Americans were demonstrating in Washington against his invitation, accusing him of being a war criminal and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Netanyahu labeled them as “Iran’s useful idiots.”
If anything, Netanyahu’s visit exposed the widening rift between US politicians and ordinary Americans over the country’s blind support of Israel and America’s complicity in the Gaza war.
Netanyahu’s visit came at an inopportune time in US politics. A week before, President Joe Biden announced that he would not be standing for reelection and was instead endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris.
While Biden’s age and health were the main reasons behind his historic decision, his failure to force Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and embrace a ceasefire deal had divided the Democratic Party. It eroded Biden’s popularity, especially among young voters and Arabs and Muslims who had supported him in 2020. Netanyahu had snubbed Biden on more than one occasion, accusing him of withholding weapons that Israel needed to achieve victory.
Despite providing diplomatic cover to Israel at the UN Security Council, attacking the International Criminal Court for considering issuing arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his defense minister on charges of committing war crimes, and providing Israel with lethal weapons to use against civilian targets in Gaza, Biden got nothing in return.
The Israeli prime minister manipulated the Biden administration and turned Gaza into a partisan issue, with the Republicans accusing Biden and the Democrats of abandoning Israel and of supporting Hamas.
But one thing that stood out following Netanyahu’s visit to Washington was this: Both US presidential candidates are now aware that Israel’s war on Gaza matters to voters — for different reasons.
Harris annoyed Netanyahu by pointing to the heavy civilian toll in Gaza, adding that she would not stay silent. “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating — the images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time,” she said. She urged Netanyahu to embrace a deal that leads to a ceasefire. She also repeated the position of her party of support for the two-state solution, which Netanyahu and his far-right coalition reject.
Harris will have to tread carefully as she unveils her policy on the war, the Palestinians, Iran and a stable Middle East.
Osama Al-Sharif
Donald Trump, on the other hand, appears to have overcome his differences with Netanyahu, but he also pushed him to end the war quickly, citing Israel’s PR losses globally. He urged Netanyahu to finish the job in Gaza, while threatening Hamas to release the hostages before he takes office — should he win in November.
While Netanyahu may have decided that derailing a hostage deal and prolonging the war serves his interests, his reasoning was based on the likelihood that Trump was on his way to winning the election. But that calculation has been tripped up by Biden’s withdrawal from the race, with Harris stepping in as the presumptive Democratic candidate.
Since she clinched the support of a majority of delegates, Harris has been closing the gap to Trump in the polls. She has energized the party and brought back young voters. Her statements on Gaza, even though she remains a staunch supporter of Israel, will probably endear her to Arab and Muslim voters. By the time the Democrats hold their national convention in Chicago next month, Harris will have managed to unite the party and shift the focus back to the dangerous Trump agenda.
Trump has accused Harris and the Democrats of abandoning Israel. He has used the term “Palestinian” as a pejorative slur associated with leading Democratic lawmakers.
The Gaza war will feature in the speeches at the Democratic convention. The Democrats’ position will be in contrast to that of the Republicans. There will be calls to differentiate between supporting Israel and giving Netanyahu a blank check to carry on with his plan to erase the Palestinians and deny them their rights.
Harris will have to tread carefully as she unveils her policy on the war, the Palestinians, Iran and a stable Middle East. Netanyahu has made such a task difficult but not impossible.
Under Trump, the two-state solution will be pronounced as a relic of the past, opening the way for an apparent policy convergence between the Republicans and the Israeli far right.
US elections and presidential debates usually focus on the economy, immigration, race relations, personal freedoms and fighting crime. Voters care less about foreign policy. Israel is always treated as a domestic concern and both parties are quick to underline the “ironclad” relationship.
This election cycle might be different. Yes, voters are already divided on issues like immigration, border security, abortion, the family, federal law versus state law and gender equality, among others. But Israel and Gaza will come into the spotlight, especially regarding how American taxpayers’ money is being spent and how much influence pro-Israel lobbies have over American politics.
Most politicians will shun such issues. But support for Israel and Zionist influence in America have become the proverbial elephant in the room for a growing number of pundits and voters. Netanyahu has played a significant role in bringing such issues to the forefront by abusing the Biden administration to the extent of public humiliation.
Not much will change this election cycle, but the fact that the Gaza war has mobilized millions of Americans in an unprecedented way is an important milestone.
• Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. X: @plato010
