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Biden Defends Support For Israel, Refers To Himself As ‘Zionist’ In Interview
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. March 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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.
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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.