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Biden, the Debate and Israel
US President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this White House handout image taken in the Oval Office in Washington, US, April 4, 2024. Photo: The White House/Handout via REUTERS
JNS.org – Many of the president’s most vigorous cheerleaders on CNN, MSNBC and The New York Times, among others, have called for President Joe Biden to step aside after his disastrous performance in the debate. The overwhelming majority of the public, which seems to want neither man as commander-in-chief, thinks that Biden is unfit. As Thomas Friedman put it (and I’m loathed to cite him on anything), Biden can be a modern-day George Washington by prioritizing the nation’s interests over personal ambition.
You must have a massive ego to become president of the United States, so it should not be surprising that someone who achieves their lifelong dream of reaching the highest office in the land—enjoying its perks and the power that comes with it—would not want to give it up.
Imagine if Donald Trump were in the same position. What do you think he would do? Comedian Jimmy Fallon caught the irony when he said, “Yeah, the media has spent almost two weeks calling on a candidate to drop out of the race, and somehow it’s not the convicted felon.”
If dyed-in-the-wool Jewish Democrats like Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, believe “this election is not just a binary choice between Biden and Trump,” it is “a binary choice between American ideals and our future as a democracy,” then it is even more reason that Biden should release his delegates. If Biden loses the presidency, he could jeopardize the party’s control of the Senate and chance to win the House, leaving his rival in power with no guardrails.
Biden’s sycophants (and every president has them) have strained credibility with flimsy excuses. First, we heard he had a cold. OK, that explains a raspy voice but not his incoherence. Then, we were told he suffered from jet lag—two weeks after returning from abroad. Does that mean he was befogged during those two weeks while making decisions about the nation’s fate? Shouldn’t that scare everyone since he will be expected to travel in a second term? Does the public trust his aides to run the country with Biden as a figurehead?
Even crazier was the argument that we shouldn’t worry because the election is still four months away. Do Biden’s supporters think he will stop aging during that time, and become more physically and mentally fit?
Biden and his supporters also argue that he won all the primaries and has the public’s support to be the nominee. Of course, most of the people talked about now as replacements didn’t run against him, unaware of his physical and mental deficiencies.
No matter how much they wish the issue would disappear, Biden’s age will remain a constant focus of the media and the public, making it nearly impossible to promote his presidency’s successes.
The election has been miscast as Biden versus Trump. It is Kamala Harris versus Trump, as few people believe Biden can govern until he is 86, given his deteriorating condition. Harris flamed out as a presidential candidate and has yet to distinguish herself as vice president, so the case for Biden staying in the race is much weaker, as is the argument that Harris should automatically be the nominee if he pulls out.
Harris, as expected, has toed the administration line on Israel. Some may recall that she raised hackles when she failed to challenge a student who accused Israel of “ethnic genocide.” She has little foreign-policy credibility or experience. Harris supported the two-state solution as a candidate while acknowledging that outside parties could not impose a solution. She was also no fan of then-newly re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is unlikely to have become more enamored with him after his fights with Biden. She is also an advocate of a nuclear deal with Iran, which raises serious questions of national security as Iran’s resources to build a bomb have grown under Biden-Harris. Some supporters may argue that her Jewish husband, who has taken a visible role in the administration’s effort to combat antisemitism, could be a positive influence vis-à-vis Israel.
With Biden’s decline and Harris’s limited foreign-policy inexperience, the influence of Obama-era diplomats at the State Department will grow and imperil US-Israel relations.
There are too many other possible candidates to assess their credentials unless and until one becomes the nominee. The record of those who ran in 2020 is available. Despite viable alternatives, shunting a woman of color will alienate swaths of the party needed to defeat Trump. It would be even more difficult to bypass her if Biden were to resign and she became president. Either way, Democrats will pay a price for sacrificing principle for identity politics.
Whether the party will come together in the face of Soifer and other Democrats’ stark choice is an open question. Just enough people may stay home or vote for a third-party candidate to sink any nominee.
Can Biden count on the Jewish vote if he stays in the race?
A case can be made to Jews for voting for Biden based on his domestic policies and support for Israel. However, recent polling shows that Jews are abandoning Biden in numbers beyond those who rejected Barack Obama in his second term.
Even before his mental acuity came into question, Biden’s support among Jews was eroding because he failed to stem the antisemitic tide in America; is publicly feuding with the Israeli prime minister; withholding and slowing down the delivery of arms to Israel; impeding the IDF’s ability to fight Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran; and refusing to take measures to stop Iran’s march to a nuclear weapon, and ongoing sponsorship of terror against Israel and the United States.
In a previous column, I advocated that Jews follow the example of Arab Americans and Muslims who were voting uncommitted to send a message of their dissatisfaction with Biden’s policy towards Israel. We don’t know how many Jews took that advice in the primaries, but the Biden team is taking the Jewish vote for granted because Jews are reliable Democratic voters. They believe Jews should appreciate Biden’s “ironclad” commitment to Israel during the war.
The American Jewish Committee poll taken before the debate found that only 61% of Jews plan to vote for Biden. That would be eight points below Obama’s 2012 total and seven less than Biden received in 2020. It would be the lowest percentage since Walter Mondale’s 57% in 1984 (a Jewish Electoral Institute poll has Biden doing better, receiving 67%, which would be worse than any Democrat since Dukakis in 1988).
It’s hard to imagine Biden attracting more Jewish votes after his debate performance. Their defection alone could sink his candidacy. Whether any other candidate would have more support is debatable, but they will likely do better.
Biden’s interview with George Stephanopoulos was supposed to reassure voters, but it was unlikely to do so as he again sputtered. When he said, “If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” I was reminded of actor and Republican political activist Charlton Heston at a National Rifle Association (he served as a five-term president) convention when he said, “I’ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.”
I hope a journalist follows up with Biden and asks if he thinks God is talking to him, and that he is making decisions for the country based on what he hears or if Biden meant he’ll only drop out if the Almighty strikes him down.
Maybe Jill should whisper in his ear while he’s sleeping, “Joe, this is God. I’d like you to withdraw from the race.”
The post Biden, the Debate and Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Vows ‘Hell Will Break Out in the Middle East’ if Gaza Hostages Not Released by His Inauguration
US President-elect Donald Trump makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, Jan. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his threat to seek retaliation against Hamas if the Palestinian terrorist group does not release the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip.
“If [the hostages] aren’t back by the time I get in office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas. And it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out,” Trump told reporters.
Trump made the comments during a wide-ranging press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. He stood alongside Steve Witkoff, the recently appointed special envoy to the Middle East for his incoming administration.
“They should’ve never taken them. They should’ve never been the attacker of Oct. 7, but there was. Many people [were] killed. They’re no longer hostages,” Trump added.
On Oct. 7 of last year, Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages to Gaza during their invasion of southern Israel. During the onslaught, 45 Americans were killed and 12 were abducted.
About 100 hostages, both dead and alive, remain in Gaza, including seven Americans. Three of them — Keith Siegel, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Edan Alexander — are thought to still be alive. Three others — Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai, and Judi Weinstein Haggai — are believed to be murdered by the terrorist group, with their bodies still in the Palestinian enclave. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed last month that Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, and his body was taken by terrorists into Gaza. Neutra was initially presumed to be among the living captives.
In total, 100 hostages remain in Gaza, and at least a third of them are believed to be dead.
Trump said on Tuesday that families of hostages have approached him in tears, desperately begging for a deal to secure their loved ones’ release from captivity.
The president-elect emphasized the importance of dispatching a “great negotiator” to broker a ceasefire deal to halt fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and free the remaining hostages, gesturing to Witkoff. Trump added that although he does “not want to hurt the negotiations,” he believes that reiterating his threats to unleash “hell” across the Middle East will incentivize Hamas to reach a deal in the upcoming weeks.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to take aggressive action to secure the return of the remaining hostages. He has previously promised that Hamas will have “hell to pay” if the terrorist group does not release those still held captive in the Gaza Strip.
“Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But i’’s all talk, and no action!” Trump posted last month on the social media platform Truth Social. “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity.”
“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” he added.
The post Trump Vows ‘Hell Will Break Out in the Middle East’ if Gaza Hostages Not Released by His Inauguration first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Lawmaker Says Washington Funding Taliban, Pens Letter Urging Trump to Halt Aid
US Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) on Dec. 5, 2024. Photo: Mattie Neretin / CNP/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
US Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) recently penned a letter to President-elect Donald Trump claiming that Washington is “funneling” money to the Taliban government in Afghanistan and calling on his incoming administration to stop such foreign aid, citing the Taliban’s extensive history of supporting Islamist terrorism.
“I write to express my strong concerns with foreign aid being funneled to the Taliban and my desire to work with your administration to stop tax dollars from going to terrorists,” Burchett wrote in the letter dated Jan. 2. “It was brought to my attention the US State Department, under the Biden administration, was funneling money to the Taliban.”
Burchett claimed that after questioning US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the top American diplomat “admitted that non-governmental organizations paid nearly $10 million of foreign aid to the Taliban in taxes.”
The lawmaker said that sending foreign aid to the Taliban undermines US national security, arguing that American government agencies are incapable of tracking how the Islamist movement spends US dollars.
“The larger issue, which Secretary Blinken failed to acknowledge, is the shipments of cash payments in United States dollars to Afghanistan’s central bank,” Burchett wrote. “These cash shipments are auctioned off and after that, they are nearly impossible to track. This is how the Taliban is being funded and plans to fund terrorism around the world.”
We have got to quit funding the Taliban under @realDonaldTrump. $40 million a week to our enemies is a slap in the face to those who served. pic.twitter.com/MVgMnSo1Gn
— Rep. Tim Burchett (@RepTimBurchett) January 6, 2025
The lawmaker did not provide any direct evidence in the letter to support his claims, although the US has provided extensive aid to Afghanistan. According to an October 2023 report from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US has provided nearly $2 billion in humanitarian assistance for Afghans since mid-August 2021, making Washington the largest humanitarian donor in Afghanistan. It is unclear how much of that money has ended up in the hands of the Taliban, which the US and other countries have designated as a terrorist group.
“The United States of America should not fund its enemies abroad. I implore you to take action to put an end to wasteful foreign aid spending and to support efforts in Congress to put Americans first,” Burchett wrote. “I look forward to working with you during your second term as president.”
Burchett added that he plans on reintroducing legislation that would require the State Department to “discourage foreign countries from providing financial or material support to the Taliban, and to report on direct-cash assistance programs and Taliban influence over Afghanistan’s central bank.”
He claimed that while the bill — first introduced in 2023 — passed the US House “unanimously,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) refused to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
Following the release of Burchett’s letter, billionaire and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk, who will serve in the Trump administration as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, sparked a debate online regarding the allegations.
“Are we really sending US taxpayer money to the Taliban?” Musk wrote on X on Monday.
The distribution of American taxpayer dollars to Afghanistan has emerged as a hot-button issue for Republicans in recent months. In December, US Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) blasted Blinken over the transfer of US dollars to the country.
“There’s an American citizen out there, literally woke up this morning losing 30% of their paycheck. And a good percentage of that is going to the Taliban or other programs abroad,” Mast said. “And this is something that we all need to think about, and we will be thinking about deeply for the next two years. There’s a joke that’s made often out there about kids going to college to learn basket weaving, and what a joke that would be. But the United States right now is literally sending tens of millions of dollars to the Taliban. 14.9 million, to be exact, to teach Afghans how to do carpet weaving.”
“Even worse, by the numbers, we spent $9 billion to resettle 90,000 roughly Afghan refugees here since the fall of Afghanistan. My simple Army math tells me that’s about $100,000 a person. That’s absurd. So my question for you. We do not even have an embassy in Afghanistan. We have no diplomats there. What are we doing giving them $1?” Mast continued.
The Taliban infamously provided a safe haven for al Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks and was accused of sheltering Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group afterward. A US-led military coalition subsequently removed the Taliban from power in Afghanistan in 2001.
In 2021, however, the Taliban once again seized power in Afghanistan, amid US President Joe Biden’s military withdrawal from the country.
The post US Lawmaker Says Washington Funding Taliban, Pens Letter Urging Trump to Halt Aid first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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A new style of magazine is coming from The CJN in 2025
When The Canadian Jewish News launched in 1960, it was as a weekly print newspaper. (Sample front-page headline: “Cannot Locate the Organizer of Toronto’s Mysterious ‘Exclusive’ Jewish Golf Club.”) Over the decades, it covered countless community events and developments, shut down and was reborn, moved from weekly to daily, and expanded beyond the written word.
The CJN’s relaunch, in 2021, took place in an entirely different media landscape than in 1960. News was instantaneous and most of it was read on screens or listened to through headphones; The CJN made the most of the immediacy and connection this new world offered: a daily news website and a slate of podcasts ensured that the community was always up-to-date.
That didn’t mean that print had lost its purpose or value, and so editorial staff developed a quarterly magazine to ensure that readers who were looking for deep dives and visual storytelling, who wanted to sit down and take their time with reporting and analysis, would still have a venue for doing just that.
When The CJN approached me about reimagining that magazine, it was still in the throes of mid-pandemic strictures. Our first meetings were held on park benches, and they were to discuss a fascinating challenge: how to make a genuinely contemporary Jewish magazine, one that is steeped in love for our heritage and also clear-eyed about the changing world around us, one that understands tradition and also speaks to younger generations. For a magazine editor — and for someone who grew up with The CJN but hadn’t, in all honesty, looked at it much as an adult — it was a remarkable chance to think through important questions about the function of journalism and about modern life as a Jewish Canadian.
I am thrilled to announce that the next chapter in The CJN’s own story — the culmination of those first park bench conversations and dozens more we’ve had since — will be unveiled this spring. This reimagined magazine is born of two years of reflection and brainstorming, research and design, developed by CJN veterans and newcomers like myself. It is our best effort to create a genuinely honest, open forum for Jewish Canadians of all persuasions, identities, and experiences to come together to learn from and about each other.
We are calling the redesigned magazine Scribe Quarterly — a name that both hearkens to tradition and evokes the journalistic goals we will be pursuing. We’ll be covering everything from politics to religion, education to food culture. We’re envisioning it as a reader’s guide to the contemporary Jewish world, and it will be landing in your mailboxes this spring. You can get a copy delivered to you, for free, by clicking here.
Hamutal Dotan
Editor in Chief
Scribe Quarterly
The post A new style of magazine is coming from The CJN in 2025 appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.