Joe Biden defended his support for Israel in a recent interview, referring to himself as a “Zionist” and painting an optimistic vision for the future of Israel and its Arab neighbors.

In a sit-down with Complex’s Speedy Morman, Biden was grilled over his relationship with Israel and whether he believes his support for the Jewish state will cost him votes among Arab and Muslim Americans. 

“Back in April, $26 million in aid was sent, or approved to be sent to Israel. Why?” Morman asked.

“I said defensive weapons,” Biden clarified, “I denied them offensive weapons that they were using, 2,000 lb. bombs and the rest.”

“I made it real clear they cannot use weapons that we provide them to use in civilian areas,” Biden continued. 

In May, the White House paused shipments of 2,000 lb. bombs to Israel, citing concern over the Jewish state’s military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The decision to halt the transfer of heavy-duty offensive weapons sparked outrage among Israeli officials, which insisted that extensive military operations in Rafah are necessary to dismantle the remaining Hamas battalions. 

Biden added that American support for the Jewish state is necessary because if Israel’s existence were endangered, “every Jew in the world would be at risk.” He stressed that Jews needed, “a place that was their own” following the horrific genocide of roughly six-million Jews during the Holocaust. 

“You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and a Zionist is about whether or not Israel is a safe haven for Jews because of their history of how they have been persecuted,” Biden said, declaring his support for Jewish statehood. 

The president also outlined his record of supporting Palestinians, claiming he has “done more for” the civilians in Gaza and the West Bank than anyone. 

“I’m the guy that opened up all the assets. I’m the guy that made. . . Egyptians open the border to let goods [such as] medicine and food.,” Biden said to Morman. 

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release tax revenues belonging to the Palestinian Authority (PA), the governing body of the West Bank. Israeli minister of finance Bezalel Smotrich originally withheld the funds from the PA in response to the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. Citing concern that the PA would soon collapse, the Biden administration pressed Israel to hand the funds back over. 

Following Israel’s capture of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in early May, Egypt refused to coordinate with Israel on humanitarian aid delivery into Gaza. Egypt demanded that Israel relinquish control of the crossing back to Palestinians. In the face of American pressure, Egypt agreed to allow passage of aid through the Kerem Shalom border crossing. 

“And, I’m the guy that’s been able to pull together the Arab states to help agree to help the Palestinians with food and shelter,” Biden told the interviewer

Though Biden stressed that he has been “supportive of Palestinians” and remains sympathetic to their struggles, he condemned Hamas, the terrorist group that runs Gaza, as a group of “thugs.” 

Biden argued that Arab Americans and Muslim Americans should support his reelection campaign, touting himself as the best choice to achieve “peace” between Israel and its Arab neighbors. 

Biden claimed that Saudi Arabia has promised to recognize Israel in exchange for a guarantee that America will provide them weapons if they are attacked. The president also stated that Saudi Arabia wants a “civilian nuclear facility” to facilitate their transition away from fossil fuels to green energy. 

Biden’s relationship with Israel and the Jewish community has become increasingly more tense in the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1200 people in southern Israel. The White House has issued several statements criticizing the Jewish state’s conduct in the Israel-Hamas war, actions which experts argue increases the terrorist group’s leverage. In December, after facing substantial pressure from progressive lawmakers, Biden accused Israel of “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.

However, Biden has attempted to hold together the bond between Israel and the Democratic Party, a relationship that seems to be rapidly deteriorating. In contrast to left-wing lawmakers such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Rashida Tlaib, Biden has not accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza. Biden has also defended Israel from accusations by fellow Democrats that is an “apartheid state”, praising the Jewish nation as a “democracy.” He has repeatedly condemned the surge of anti-Israel protests on college campuses and in front of synagogues following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel.

The post Biden Defends Support For Israel, Refers To Himself As ‘Zionist’ In Interview first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A coalition of US Jewish groups on Monday denounced the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), one of the largest educators’ unions in the country, for including anti-Israel resolutions in the agenda of its upcoming annual convention.

The resolutions, seven in total, run the gamut of anti-Zionist ideology, calling for the end of US military assistance to Israel while falsely accusing the country of “genocide,” a ceasefire in Gaza that would halt Israel’s mission to clear Hamas from the territory, and divestment from Israel in the form of selling AFT’s Israel bonds. Another resolution accuses supporters of Israel of “weaponizing” antisemitism to shield Israel from criticism.

On Thursday, StandWithUs, New York City Public School Alliance, Educators Caucus for Israel, and Partners for Equality and Educational Responsibility in K-12 (PeerK12), said the measures “undermine the safety and well being of Jewish students, families, and educators in public schools” and foster a culture of hate.

“Each one of these anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish resolutions is based on propaganda and politically subversive and ideologically driven lies, exposing yet again the deeply unsettling and obvious lack of merit, or even the slightest desire of the AFT to adhere to indisputable facts and historical accuracy that one might expect from a national association,” PeerK12 co-founder Nicole Bernstein said in a press release on Monday.

StandWithUs director of K-12 Educator Outreach David Smokler added, “We call on school boards and school superintendents to make it clear to teachers that they may not bring biased materials into their classrooms. Teachers must teach students how to think, not what to think.”

If passed at AFT’s convention on July 22-25, the resolutions would mark the most severe condemnation of Israel and Zionism passed by a teachers’ union and continue the anti-Zionist movement’s march through K-12 schools, which The Algemeiner has covered extensively.

Antisemitism in K-12 schools has continued to increase every year, according to the ADL’s latest data. In 2023, antisemitic incidents in US public school increased 135 percent, a figure which included a rise in vandalism and assault.

“School-based harassment in 2023 also included one-off incidents such as when a middle school administrator received a note containing antisemitic death threats or when a high school student threatened their Jewish classmates, stating that if they supported Israel, they would beat them up,” the civil rights group said in its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2023. “Given the insidious nature of bullying, compounded by the fact that many children may not feel empowered to report their experiences, it is likely that the actual number of school-based antisemitic incidents was significantly higher than the data reported in the audit.”

The problem has led to numerous civil rights complaints filed with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Earlier this month, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced that the Community School of Davidson, a charter school located in North Carolina, agreed to settle a civil rights complaint alleging that administrators failed to address a series of disturbing antisemitic incidents in which a non-Jewish student was called a “dirty Jew” and told that “the oven is that way,” and battered with other denigrating comments too vulgar for publication. The abuse, according to the complaint, began after the child wore an Israeli sports jersey.

As part of a settlement with OCR, the school has agreed, among other things, to issue a statement proclaiming a zero tolerance policy for racist abuse, institute anti-discrimination training for teachers and staff, and “develop or revise” its approach to responding to racial bigotry.

That case was not the first the Brandeis Center pursued on behalf of K-12 students. In February, it filed a complaint alleging that the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) in California has caused severe psychological trauma to Jewish students as young as eight years old and fostered a hostile learning environment.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post US Jewish Groups Condemn Anti-Zionist Resolutions Considered by American Federation of Teachers first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Two Montreal cafes connected to the city’s Jewish community—one targeted by pro-Palestinian boycotters after Oct. 7, and another operated by neurodivergent youth—have opened a new establishment in Hampstead. ‘Pigeon dans le Parc’ officially opened on July 3 as a full-time full operation this summer. It’s a joint venture between Café Pigeon, a popular coffeeshop with […]

The post ‘Pigeon dans le Parc’ is Montreal’s newest Jewish community café providing summer opportunities to neurodivergent youth appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.