Both US Republican and Democratic leaders slam Biden for threatening Israel over Rafah op
Pro-Israel politicians from both parties say Biden is ‘siding with Hamas’
Following U.S. President Joe Biden's recent statements in a CNN interview, where he threatened to halt weapons shipments to Israel if it continues its operation in Rafah against Hamas, politicians from both Republican and Democratic parties, along with leaders of Jewish organizations, have slammed his position.
U.S. Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA) told Jewish Insider that funding authorized by Congress for Israel, “has to be spent, has to be obligated, has to go.”
Sherman also criticized Biden for what he perceived as hypocrisy concerning the shipment of precision-guided weapons to Israel.
“How in the hell do you criticize Israel for being imprecise in its bombing and then refuse to deliver them what they’re willing to pay for to make the bombs precise?” he asked.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) wrote on social media that Biden “is for a Hamas victory against Israel.”
I’ve said for months what Joe Biden now admits: his de facto position is for a Hamas victory against Israel. https://t.co/3kr8AB1gfS
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) May 8, 2024
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman wrote on social media that Biden “is siding with Hamas over Israel."
“Let’s be brutally clear here. Israel cannot defeat Hamas without entering Rafah, where Hamas maintains four fully functioning battalions,” Friedman stated. “Biden is siding with Hamas over Israel. There’s no other way to say it.”
Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee said that Biden “should not take steps that could impair Israel’s ability to prevent Hamas from attacking it again and again.”
It is Hamas that started this conflict. It is Hamas that month after month refuses to accept proposals to release hostages and pause fighting. It is Hamas that continues to endanger Israeli and Palestinian lives.
— Ted Deutch, CEO of American Jewish Committee (@AJCCEO) May 9, 2024
President Biden should not take steps that could impair Israel’s…
Bradley Bowman, the senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy (FDD) wrote: “The Biden administration is making a disturbing, counter-productive, and short-sighted mistake.”
Bowman also said that the administration’s actions would hurt American interests in the region.
“Purposefully delaying the delivery to Israel of some of the means of self-defense after October 7 undermines U.S. interests, empowers Hamas, extends the conflict in Gaza, prolongs the nightmare for the hostages, and emboldens Hezbollah,” Bowman argued.
“This is not how a friend treats another friend in a moment of need and vulnerability. By the way, precision-guided munitions help the IDF avoid civilian casualties, a goal that Hamas obviously does not share with Israel.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump posted to his Truth social media account, accusing Biden of “taking the side of these terrorists, just like he has sided with the Radical Mobs taking over our college campuses because his donors are funding them.”
Meanwhile, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) excoriated U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for withholding arms shipments to Israel when he was questioned at the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
Even before the remarks from Biden or Austin, two Republican senators, Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Ted Budd (North Carolina), sent a letter to the U.S. president requesting clarification on a pause in munitions to Israel.
“We are shocked that your administration has reportedly decided to withhold critical ammunition to Israel,” they wrote. “You promised your commitment to Israel was ironclad. Pausing much-needed military support to our closest Middle Eastern ally signals otherwise.”
The two senators also pointed out a contradiction between Biden's statements following the recent passage of the national security supplemental funding package and his subsequent actions.
At the time, Biden affirmed that he would “always make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and terrorists it supports.”
“If these reports are true, then you have once again broken your promise to an American ally,” the two senators charged.
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
