Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Biden’s Debate Performance Raises Alarm in Israel
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 9 months ago on
July 1, 2024

President Joe Biden gestures after arriving at McGuire Air Force Base, in Burlington County, N.J., on Saturday, June 29, 2024, before boarding Marine One on route to Red Bank, N.J. Israelis expressed growing concern on Sunday that President Biden’s shaky debate performance could spur on the country’s Middle Eastern foes at what many view as a critical time for American leadership in the region. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

JERUSALEM — Israelis expressed growing concern on Sunday that President Joe Biden’s shaky debate performance could spur on the country’s Middle Eastern foes at what many view as a critical time for U.S. leadership in the region.

Iran Could Exploit Biden’s Weakness

Israeli commentators from across the political spectrum warned that Iran and its proxies could try to exploit Biden’s apparent weakness as Israel fights Hamas in the Gaza Strip and weighs the prospect of an all-out conflict with the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

U.S. officials have been working to broker a diplomatic solution to the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in an attempt to avert a wider regional war that they fear could draw in both Iran and the United States. The Biden administration is also involved in intense efforts with other mediators to try to advance a truce deal for Gaza that would involve exchanging the remaining hostages there for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has publicly pressured the Biden administration to speed up munitions supplies before any conflagration with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Many Israeli Newspapers Featured Debate

Several of Israel’s Sunday newspapers featured the debate on their front pages in a kind of delayed reaction: The debate took place before dawn Friday local time, after the weekend papers had gone to press. And Hebrew dailies are not published on Saturday, the Sabbath.

Analysts for Israel Hayom, a right-wing free paper, and the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper differed sharply in tone but both raised the specter of enemies of Israel and the United States testing the administration’s resolve.

“Will Hezbollah and Iran assess that Biden is too busy now to back Israel in case all-out war breaks out in Lebanon this summer?” Amos Harel, Haaretz’s military affairs analyst, wrote Sunday.

While some on the Israeli right have mocked Biden’s debate performance, hoping for a victory by Donald Trump, Harel continued, that was a display of ungratefulness after the U.S. president stood by Israel and supplied it with large quantities of weapons. “Moreover,” he added, “Trump is a feeble reed to rely on.”

During the presidential debate Thursday, Trump accused Biden of not wanting Israel to “finish the job” in Gaza — calling him weak and raising eyebrows by using the word “Palestinian” as an insult. Biden offered little in the way of a response.

Biden Has Been a Supporter of Israel

Biden has been a staunch supporter of Israel throughout the war, although he has also been critical, frequently calling on Israel to limit civilian casualties and to work to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.

He has a long history with Netanyahu. Biden flew to Israel in a powerful show of solidarity last fall, soon after the Hamas-led terrorist assault on southern Israel that prompted the war in Gaza. He has since paid a political price for his support, which has infuriated American opponents of the war who want the U.S. government to stop providing Israel with munitions.

But the visions of Biden and Netanyahu have diverged in recent months. The U.S. government held up one shipment to Israel of heavy bombs, fearing that they would be used in densely populated areas. And Biden has dismissed Netanyahu’s oft-stated goal of “total victory” over Hamas as a vague objective that would mean indefinite war.

Trump Appears Soured on Netanyahu

Trump was strongly supportive of Israel as president and largely went along with the agenda of Netanyahu and his right-wing allies. During his term, Trump moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, fulfilling a long-standing Israeli demand.

But the former president appears to have soured on Netanyahu. He has said the Hamas-led assault was a result of Netanyahu’s lack of preparation and praised Hezbollah as “very smart.” In an interview with Israel Hayom in March, Trump advised Israel to wrap up the war in Gaza, because it was losing much of the world’s support.

“You gotta get it done,” he told the paper, “and we gotta get to peace — we can’t have this going on.”

Israel Hayom’s publisher is Dr. Miriam Adelson, the widow of Sheldon Adelson, and a staunchly pro-Israel megadonor who is now backing Trump’s third White House bid.

Amnon Lord, a columnist for Israel Hayom, asserted on Sunday that Biden’s performance in the debate proved persistent claims that “an extreme progressive group” of aides was driving U.S. foreign policy.

“In a world rife with aggressive forces,” he wrote, “the unflattering image of an American president — the leader of the free world — appearing weak and incoherent encourages them to exploit opportunities.”

“Biden’s decline mirrors the collapse of his Middle East policy vis-à-vis Iran and its proxies,” Lord added.

Lord trod carefully around Trump’s performance in the debate, saying only that he, too, “didn’t gain supporters.”

Yediot Ahronot, a mainstream Hebrew daily, flagged a column on its front page describing Biden’s performance as a “catastrophe.” The columnist, Nadav Eyal, wrote that faced with the prospect of another Trump presidency, the Democrats and their allies carried the fate of the free world on their shoulders.

“Weakness is not a characteristic that an American president can broadcast, by any stretch,” he wrote.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Isabel Kershner/Haiyun Jiang
c.2024 The New York Times Company
Distributed by The New York Times Licensing Group

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

How California Homeless Programs Are Helping People Get Fit and off the Streets: ‘It’s the Bike’

DON'T MISS

Protesters in Fresno Rally Against Tesla and Elon Musk

DON'T MISS

Trump Considers Massive Extension of Travel Ban Targeting Up to 43 Countries

DON'T MISS

George Soros and Elon Musk Clash in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

DON'T MISS

Romania’s Democracy Tested as Court Blocks Controversial Presidential Bid

DON'T MISS

Trump Orders Strikes on Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Issues New Warning to Iran

DON'T MISS

Merced Kicks Off $3.5 Million Bob Hart Square Renovation

DON'T MISS

Playing Political Whac-A-Mole As Issue Of Bond Measure Language Pops Up Again

DON'T MISS

A Loophole in California Law Makes It Hard to Prosecute Threats Against Schools. Will Lawmakers Close It?

DON'T MISS

Rubio Says South Africa’s Ambassador to the US ‘Is No Longer Welcome’ in the Country

UP NEXT

Protesters in Fresno Rally Against Tesla and Elon Musk

UP NEXT

Trump Considers Massive Extension of Travel Ban Targeting Up to 43 Countries

UP NEXT

George Soros and Elon Musk Clash in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

UP NEXT

Romania’s Democracy Tested as Court Blocks Controversial Presidential Bid

UP NEXT

Trump Orders Strikes on Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Issues New Warning to Iran

UP NEXT

Merced Kicks Off $3.5 Million Bob Hart Square Renovation

UP NEXT

Playing Political Whac-A-Mole As Issue Of Bond Measure Language Pops Up Again

UP NEXT

A Loophole in California Law Makes It Hard to Prosecute Threats Against Schools. Will Lawmakers Close It?

UP NEXT

Rubio Says South Africa’s Ambassador to the US ‘Is No Longer Welcome’ in the Country

UP NEXT

Dodgers’ Star Mookie Betts Sidelined in Japan With Flu-Like Symptoms

George Soros and Elon Musk Clash in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

1 day ago

Romania’s Democracy Tested as Court Blocks Controversial Presidential Bid

1 day ago

Trump Orders Strikes on Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Issues New Warning to Iran

1 day ago

Merced Kicks Off $3.5 Million Bob Hart Square Renovation

2 days ago

Playing Political Whac-A-Mole As Issue Of Bond Measure Language Pops Up Again

2 days ago

A Loophole in California Law Makes It Hard to Prosecute Threats Against Schools. Will Lawmakers Close It?

2 days ago

Rubio Says South Africa’s Ambassador to the US ‘Is No Longer Welcome’ in the Country

2 days ago

Dodgers’ Star Mookie Betts Sidelined in Japan With Flu-Like Symptoms

2 days ago

US Imposes Sanctions on Thai Officials After Uyghur Men Are Deported to China

2 days ago

Shohei Ohtani Hits 2-Run HR in Return to Japan Against Yomiuri Giants

2 days ago

How California Homeless Programs Are Helping People Get Fit and off the Streets: ‘It’s the Bike’

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Robert Brown had tried everything for his pain, from acupu...

15 hours ago

15 hours ago

How California Homeless Programs Are Helping People Get Fit and off the Streets: ‘It’s the Bike’

1 day ago

Protesters in Fresno Rally Against Tesla and Elon Musk

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Pool via AP)
1 day ago

Trump Considers Massive Extension of Travel Ban Targeting Up to 43 Countries

1 day ago

George Soros and Elon Musk Clash in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

1 day ago

Romania’s Democracy Tested as Court Blocks Controversial Presidential Bid

1 day ago

Trump Orders Strikes on Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Issues New Warning to Iran

2 days ago

Merced Kicks Off $3.5 Million Bob Hart Square Renovation

2 days ago

Playing Political Whac-A-Mole As Issue Of Bond Measure Language Pops Up Again

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend