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The White House Abandoned Israel at the UN; Will Jews Abandon Biden?
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan addresses the UN Security Council at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar
In failing to veto the UN Security Council Resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, the Biden administration has abandoned Israel. Many observers predicted this day would come, having seen the writing on the wall with increasingly hostile rhetoric directed at Israel in general, and Prime Minister Netanyahu specifically.
Optimistic observers dismissed the tough talk as an attempt to appease critics and maintain support within the Democratic caucus ahead of a tough election. Some say the same about the UN vote itself. On Saturday, Biden signed a funding package that eliminated aid for UNWRA until 2025 and provided $3.3 billion for Israel, which will supply its Iron Dome and other defense needs. So many Jews were hopeful that Biden still would stand behind Israel in its efforts to fully defeat Hamas.
That optimism was damaged on Monday, when Israel found itself with no ally on the Security Council. In a stunning display of shortsightedness, Biden capitulated to pressure from his left flank. In analyzing the decision to withhold a US veto, the question is whether this will help Biden in the long run.
If Biden acted to prevent Israel from entering Rafah, then he miscalculated badly. Israel will surely enter Rafah now, and Biden will appear weak because his diplomatic prowess was inadequate to prevent it. It may appease some in his party, but it’s a bad move for all those who believe Israel is justified in removing Hamas from power.
After the vote, Israel recalled the contingent it had planned to send to Washington at Biden’s request to discuss alternatives to a full Rafah incursion. The administration is said to be “perplexed” by what they consider an “overreaction” from Israel. The fact that the administration is perplexed suggests that they do not understand the significance of their actions, which is frightening. For weeks, negotiations towards a hostage deal were taking place, and progress was being made on that front. Hamas had accepted that there would be no permanent ceasefire as a condition of the deal.
Predictably, Hamas responded to the UN resolution on Monday by rejecting the most recent proposal and going back to its original position that Israel must withdraw from Gaza entirely in exchange for the release of hostages. All of the progress that was made to get to the most recent proposal has been undone. By allowing a ceasefire resolution to pass, Biden has materially undermined these negotiations. If a ceasefire can be imposed on Israel without the return of hostages, then Hamas has no incentive to release them. In essence, the UN vote doomed the negotiations and the hostages — not to mention, Israel’s hope of preventing future October 7 attacks in the long-term.
Biden has been walking a tightrope, trying to support our ally in Israel without jeopardizing his political fortunes at home. However, leadership means sticking to difficult decisions despite criticism. A great leader does not succumb to political pressure in making historic decisions. That Biden caved to pressure when leadership was needed most, is a historic blemish on his record that he will most certainly suffer for politically.
Once again, Jews are alone on the world stage. Once again, the US has abandoned Israel in a true time of need. The US’ policy is a huge moral failure, and politics is never more important than doing what’s right.
Kenneth Blake is a former state prosecutor and teaches Critical Thinking and Government in Petaluma, California.
The post The White House Abandoned Israel at the UN; Will Jews Abandon Biden? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.