In a speech on Monday night at J Street—the self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobbying group—the vice president condemned the Netanyahu government and praised the Labor MK Stav Shaffir (who was also present), expressing his wish that her “views begin once again to become the majority opinion in the Knesset.” Jonathan Tobin remarks:
While it is a curious thing for one government of a democratic nation to express an opinion about the verdict of the people in another democratic nation, it was nevertheless a rare moment of honesty from the Obama administration about Israel. As much as the problems between Washington and Jerusalem have been hyped as the product of the dysfunctional relationship between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu, the truth is that the disconnect between the two governments isn’t really about two men who don’t like one another. The administration’s problem isn’t so much with Netanyahu as it is with the Israeli people, who continue to reject its advice about policy and about who should run their country. . . .
Feeding the liberal J Street audience what they wanted to hear, Biden excoriated settlements in the West Bank as “counterproductive” and a threat to Israel’s continuance as both a Jewish and democratic state. . . . The problem with Biden’s thinking and that of his J Street cheering section is that the reason why there is no peace has nothing to do with settlements and everything to do with the Palestinians’ refusal to accept the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders might be drawn. . . .
As Biden’s speech indicated, U.S. policy and the views of people like Bernie Sanders and J Street are out of touch with the reality of the Middle East when it comes to the critique of Netanyahu. More importantly, they are angry with Israelis for preferring common sense to the advice of American liberals who have the hubristic notion that they can save Israel from itself. Until these liberals sober up and accept reality, Israelis will have to live with their disdain.
Read more on Commentary: https://www.commentarymagazine.com/foreign-policy/middle-east/israel/joe-biden-versus-israeli-people/