Know Your True Friends, Israel

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”

“He who finds a faithful friend finds a treasure.”

Netanyahu, are you listening?

Just about a week or so ago, President Biden declared, “America, America, I gave my best to you.” He could have said the same to Israel. For 50 years, President Biden has given his life to serving his country, and to supporting allies like Israel.

Throughout the President’s long career of public service, there has been one constant: he has always been an Irish-American Zionist with deep ties to the Jewish people. As Senator Biden, as Vice President Biden, and as President Biden.

“Whenever things were getting out of hand with Israel,” Middle East advisor Dennis Ross once said, “Biden was the bridge” (emphasis mine). “His commitment to Israel was that strong.”

Some Israelis and Israel-Americans may even remember that Biden reentered the presidential race because of that ironclad commitment to the safety and security of Jewish people around the world. “I ran for president in 2020,” he explained, “because of what I saw in Charlottesville in August of 2017.”

They carried tiki torches and Nazi swastikas. They chanted, “Jews will not replace us.” Most concerning of all, they marched on Charlottesville emboldened by President Donald Trump, who courted the support of alt-right personalities like Steve Bannon (and later, full-on white nationalists like the Holocaust-denying Nick Fuentes).

Never forget. Because President Biden didn’t. When he learned of the horrific attacks of October 7th, he became the first president to visit Israel in a time of war. He famously bear-hugged Netanyahu and tried to comfort Israel in its time of grief. On October 19th, he spoke from the Oval Office. In one of only four addresses he ever made to the nation, he attempted to explain the stakes of the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine.

In April, he became the first president to help Israel successfully fend off a direct strike from Iran—all with the help of a regional coalition he helped put together. Thanks to that, Iran’s attack was mostly a dud, killing no one and causing injuries to one poor Bedouin girl. The people of Israel made sure to show their gratitude. Shortly after Israel prevailed, murals depicting President Biden as a superhero began showing up in the streets of Tel Aviv.

The people of Israel appreciate what President Biden has done. Unfortunately, the same should not be said of Benjamin Netanyahu. To the contrary, he has consistently worked to undermine the President and boost his opponent, the American insurrectionist Donald Trump.

Yes, the same man who dined with Nick Fuentes, who cozied up to alt-right figures like Steve Bannon, who played apologist for the neo-Nazis and white supremacists of Charlottesville, and who falsely denied ever knowing who David Duke was.

Just how far has Netanyahu gone to betray President Biden? Well, President Trump has allegedly urged Netanyahu to avoid wrapping up a cease-fire deal before the November election. If recent events are an indication of anything, it appears that Netanyahu is more than willing to do Trump’s bidding.

If true, this is treachery that would make 1968 Richard Nixon blush. It is a hard smack in the face to the hostages, to the people who love them, and to the people of Israel at large. It is cynical, it is treasonous, and it is an insult to the IDF soldiers who put their lives on the line for their country. Yet that is a subject for another article. More to the point, it is the betrayal of a 50-years-long friend of Israel.

Is this the way Netanyahu’s Israel will treat her friends? Is this the price other allies will eventually have to pay for their friendship?

No. The people of Israel have a clear choice to make. Will they allow Netanyahu to stab her friends in the back, or will they force him to live by the timeless call of the Golden Rule?

Choose carefully. Trump is no friend of yours. He supports you when it suits him, and he will abandon you when it suits him. Mark my words, and remember: “A friend who stands with you in pressure is more valuable than a hundred ones who stand with you in pleasure.”