Last spring, the Ukrainian government asked the Biden administration to transfer Iron Dome and Patriot defense missiles to Ukraine. The transaction would have required approval by both the U.S. and Israel, as the Iron Dome is a joint Israeli-American project. At the time, Israel reportedly declined to sign off on the deal. The Times of Israel reports:

Israeli officials reportedly made it clear to the U.S. administration in informal talks that it wouldn’t agree to the transfer of Iron Dome batteries to Kyiv, fearing it would hurt its relations with Russia, especially in light of Moscow’s influence over Syria.

The Ukrainians, in turn, have in recent months made direct requests to the Israeli government and asked for officials to approve the sale.

Convinced by Israel’s arguments, the U.S. dropped the transfer of both Iron Dome and Patriot missiles. The Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said last Wednesday that his country was seeking greater cooperation with Israel on air-defense technology amid fears of a Russian invasion. An Israel TV report specified that Ukraine has been in contact with Israel regarding the Iron Dome missile-defense system, other missile-warning technologies, and cyber-defense technology.

The Biden administration’s apparent abandonment of Israel is matched by the White House’s feckless handling of rising anti-Semitism. Seth Mandel explains:

On Thursday, May 2, Biden made public remarks condemning the campus pro-Hamas protests. The very next day, major Jewish groups pulled out of a White House meeting on anti-Semitism with [the domestic policy adviser Neera] Tanden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. The reason? Jewish activists who have spent their careers opposing Israel, attacking the Jewish community, and now supporting the very anti-Semitic demonstrations [the meeting was called to address] were added to the meeting after the mainstream groups had already accepted.

When Joe Biden speaks about anti-Semitism, he usually says the right words. But in charge of his deeds, he has put political incompetents manifestly unqualified for this responsibility. He should fix that immediately, because his speeches won’t much matter without a way to implement the ideas animating them.