{"id":112156,"date":"2024-04-11T17:05:49","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T15:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=112156"},"modified":"2024-04-11T09:57:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T07:57:40","slug":"15-00-92","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=112156","title":{"rendered":"Top Democrats Make Unprecedented Statements Against Israel, Signaling Party Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Top Democrats Make Unprecedented Statements Against Israel, Signaling Party Shift<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n

Jack Elbaum<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) chats with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the House of Representatives ahead of US President Joe Biden\u2019s third State of the Union address in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, March 7, 2024. Photo: Shawn Thew\/Pool via REUTERS<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A growing number of prominent, mainstream US Democrats have made recent statements calling to condition Washington\u2019s military aid to Israel and even suggesting the Jewish state is committing genocide, indicating a\u00a0potentially larger shift within the party<\/a>\u00a0against one of America\u2019s closest allies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to the Hamas terrorist group\u2019s massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza, members of a small group of\u00a0vocal, young, far-left progressives<\/a>\u00a0were the only members of Congress consistently calling for conditions on aid to Israel and accusing it of egregious crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past few weeks, however, many more mainstream figures have joined the choir as Israel\u2019s war on Hamas reached its six-month mark.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, while speaking at the Islamic Center of Boston, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was asked if she believed Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, the neighboring enclave ruled by Hamas. She responded, \u201cIf you want to do it as an application of law, I believe that they\u2019ll [the International Court of Justice will] find that it is genocide, and they have ample evidence to do so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The senator added, \u201cFor me, it is far more important to say what Israel is doing is wrong.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Warren appeared to somewhat walk back her response after it went viral. Her office said in a statement that\u00a0she was commenting \u201con the ongoing legal process at the International Court of Justice, not sharing her views on whether genocide is occurring in Gaza.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The statement referred to ongoing efforts to argue before the International Court of Justice at The Hague that Israel\u2019s defensive war against Hamas in Gaza constituted a \u201cgenocide.\u201d\u00a0South Africa failed in its bid<\/a>\u00a0earlier this year to make such a case.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel launched its military campaign following Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 invasion, saying its objectives were to free the hostages seized by the terrorists and to incapacitate Hamas, which murdered over 1,200 people and\u00a0committed mass atrocities<\/a>\u00a0during the onslaught, to the point that it could no longer pose a serious threat to the Israeli people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, US President Joe Biden last week called for an \u201cimmediate ceasefire\u201d and\u00a0threatened to pull back support for Israel<\/a>\u00a0due to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Biden\u2019s warning came after\u00a0his administration abstained from a UN Security Council resolution that de-linked a ceasefire from the release of hostages \u2014 Israel has said any truce must include the freeing of those still held captive.<\/span><\/p>\n

This week, Biden suggested in an interview that he supports a unilateral Israeli 6-8-week ceasefire, seemingly implying it should be done even if it would leave all the hostages in Gaza. The White House had to clarify that was not what he actually meant, and that he was reiterating support for both the hostages and ceasefire negotiations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) said in an interview with\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/i>\u00a0that he felt \u201cthe president has been fundamentally supportive of Israel,\u201d but also noted he worried that \u201ca number of the statements that have been made have gone too far and undermine Israel\u201d in its war.<\/span><\/p>\n

Biden expressed strong support for Israel in the weeks following the Oct. 7 massacre and his administration has sent significant amounts of munitions to the Israeli military since the start of the war. According to Torres, however, the messaging from Biden and many other Democrats in recent weeks could benefit Hamas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHamas knows that it cannot defeat Israel militarily. It can only defeat Israel diplomatically and geopolitically,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnd when you have members of Congress falsely accuse Israel of genocide, or targeting civilians, or assassinating aid workers, or using starvation as a weapon of war, or indiscriminate bombing \u2026 you are playing into the hands of Hamas.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, more than 30 House Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), sent a letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken reading, \u201cWe strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike [which accidentally killed World Central Kitchen aid workers] is completed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter continued: \u201cWe also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate \u2014 or arbitrarily denies or restricts \u2014 the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Since Biden\u2019s warning last week, Israel increased what were\u00a0already significant amounts of aid<\/a>\u00a0entering Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the letter, Pelosi tried to clarify her stance in an interview on MSNBC, saying she was \u201cnot a fan of having conditions on aid to Israel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Tuesday that he would not approve a large arms transfer to Israel until he has more information about how the Jewish state would use the weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m waiting for assurances,\u201d\u00a0Meeks\u00a0<\/span>told CNN. \u201cI want to make sure that I know the types of weapons and what the weapons would be utilized for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In a separate interview on CNN, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) \u2014 a top Biden ally and longtime supporter of Israel \u2014 said \u201cI think we\u2019re at that point\u201d when asked about conditioning aid to Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister, were to order the [Israel Defense Force] into Rafah at scale, if they were to drop 1,000-pound bombs and send in a battalion to go after Hamas and make no provision for civilians or for humanitarian aid, then I would vote to condition aid to Israel,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rafah is Hamas\u2019s last stronghold in Gaza. The\u00a0United States has been pressuring Israel<\/a>\u00a0not to move forward with a full-scale military operation in the southern Gazan city, where\u00a0Israel says the Palestinian terrorist group still has four battalions. Israeli officials have said they must operate in Rafah but are discussing with US counterparts how best to target Hamas there.<\/span><\/p>\n

The recent flurry of criticisms of Israel came after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who is Jewish, told the Senate last month that Netanyahu\u2019s government \u201cno longer fits the needs of\u00a0Israel\u201d \u2014 a striking comment against a democratic ally at a time of war.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Amid heightened criticism from key Democrats and rising tensions between Washington and Jerusalem, some observers are warning that support for the Jewish state must remain bipartisan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping support for Israel bipartisan is critical,\u201d the group Democratic Majority for Israel told\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>. \u201cHistory tells us there will be times when both of the two parties are in charge, and we need two pro-Israel parties. Right now, most Democratic leaders are pro-Israel, and we need to work very hard to ensure it remains that way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Torres concurred, noting that \u201cthere is no US-Israel relationship without bipartisanship.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about what appears to be an increasingly mainstream shift among Democrats against Israel, Torres argued that conditioning aid among Democrats is still a \u201cminority position.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, he added that the increasingly frequent statements pressuring Israel to implement a ceasefire \u2014 when it has previously agreed to parameters for one and Hamas has rejected every deal over the past few months \u2014 could have the effect of helping the terrorist group in its war effort.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInternational pressure is the only hope that Hamas has for achieving victory in the war,\u201d Torres said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em>
\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion’68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.
\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:
\n<\/em>webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top Democrats Make Unprecedented Statements Against Israel, Signaling Party Shift Jack Elbaum Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) chats with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the House of Representatives ahead of US President Joe Biden\u2019s third State of the Union address in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, March 7, 2024. Photo: Shawn Thew\/Pool via […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112156"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=112156"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112175,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112156\/revisions\/112175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=112156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=112156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=112156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}