Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
March 13, 2024
With so-called friends like Joe Biden, current occupant of the White House, and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Israel certainly needs no more enemies. From both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, Israel, the closest ally of the United States in the Middle East, is receiving terrible advice and veiled threats, which undoubtedly will be tossed into the circular file by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During his State of the Campaign shout fest, Thursday March 7, Biden stated so grandiosely that Israel has the right to defend itself, exactly five months to the day of the heinous Hamas invasion of Israel slaughtering more than 1,200 innocent Israeli children, women, and men. Without missing a beat, Biden all but called for a ceasefire and demanded Israel provide MORE humanitarian aid to Gaza. Lest Biden forget, and there’s a pretty damn good chance of that, a ceasefire existed on October 6, 2023. That ceasefire ended when Hamas invaded Israel, raping women and little girls - it only took a United Nations committee five months to begrudgingly come to that same obvious conclusion.
Hamas also murdered men, women, and children in such horrific fashion as decapitating babies while forcing parents to bear witness before executing the parents. Burning babies alive. And taking more than 200 people hostage from more than a dozen countries, including the United States, of which more than 100 are still in captivity, including five from the United States. Yet Biden, and much more often, Kamala Harris, continues demanding a ceasefire from Israel.
Hamas is also the elected body of Gaza. Hamas controls what comes in and goes out of Gaza - including humanitarian aid. Hamas has commandeered more of these supplies than most people could imagine, depriving those few Gazans not helping Hamas. That said, for Biden to say Israel must step up and provide more humanitarian aid, simply proves his lack of understanding of the situation there, as well as his lack of understanding of war. Did the US provide humanitarian aid to Nazi Germany during World War II? There’s always that double standard concerning Israel. Israel is expected to go above and beyond, but to be fair, Israel historically makes every bona fide attempt to limit civilian casualties. Succeeding is harder than the uninitiated would realize because Hamas infamously hides its terrorists within civilian homes and sites, uses those very civilians as human shields, as well as putting their weaponry amongst civilians in places such as hospitals, kindergartens, the underground tunnels, and even mosques.
And Hamas is not alone in its assault on Israel. Israel is under constant attack by Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, al-Aqsa Martyrs, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, and the Houthis from Yemen. These terrorist organizations are funded and sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Under Biden, billions of dollars have been released to Iran, that heretofore were never surrendered by the Donald Trump administration.
Both Biden and Schumer foolishly continue calling for a two-state solution, which anyone who pays attention, understands how untenable such a suggestion is, and how much at risk it puts Israel. There is no two-state solution to be had when Hamas and the Palestinians will not even recognize Israel and its right to exist. There is no two-state solution to be had when Hamas and Hezbollah have written in their charters the call to eviscerate Israel and slaughter the Jewish people, as they have continued doing since October 7. Netanyahu referenced a 99-9 vote in the Knesset. “That’s over 90 percent supported my policy of opposing a Palestinian state being rammed down Israel’s throat.”
The most obvious first step toward any kind of peace must begin with the release of all the hostages by Hamas. Has Biden suggested such a plan? Harris? Schumer? NO; and no one should hold their breath. But while Biden is merely a puppet, a stooge, doing the bidding of the radical, progressive, leftists, in desperate need of the Muslim votes from Michigan and Minnesota, Schumer should know better.
Instead Schumer continues playing politics. Speaking from the Senate chamber on Thursday, March 14, Schumer had the audacity to call anyone opposing a Palestinian state “bigots.” Schumer said new elections in Israel are necessary to bring about a two-state solution and because so many Israelis have lost confidence in their government. But that’s simply not true. Having spoken with numerous friends who live in Israel, to a person, as much as some of them absolutely do not like Netanyahu, they all support the decisions made by his government in its necessary quest to completely eliminate Hamas. They have said that it is vital the nation of Israel stand unified and strong in this common goal and put partisan politics aside - at least for now.
“Ultimately, I’m the Prime Minister of Israel. I’m responsible for the security and future of the Jewish state and I’m supported in my policies - the overwhelming majority of Israelis support my policies - that we have to eradicate Hamas as a terrorist and governing organization, get our hostages back, and we have to make sure Gaza doesn’t form a threat to us anymore,” said Netanyahu.
“Of course the US cannot dictate the outcome of an election, nor should we try,” said Schumer from the Senate floor. “That is for the Israeli public to decide; a public that I believe understands better than anybody that Israel cannot hope to succeed as a pariah opposed by the rest of the world. As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may. But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice - there needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after October 7,” said Schumer.
Here is where Schumer didn’t just cross a line, he pole vaulted over it. “In my opinion, that is best accomplished by holding an election. If Prime Minister Netanyahu’s current coalition remains in power after the war begins to wind down, and continues to pursue dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing US standards for assistance, then the US will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course.”
Sounds like more than a veiled threat. Sounds like Schumer is calling for regime change by hook or by crook. This is not the way one ally treats another ally. Seems Schumer wants to install a puppet or stooge in the Israeli Knesset to take orders the same way Biden does. Seems Biden, Schumer, and the Democrat Party have the same visceral hatred of Netanyahu as they do of Trump. Seems Netanyahu and Trump are in good company.
But what Netanyahu said several days ago should remind Schumer of several immutable truths. “Our battle is your battle, and our victory is your victory…. We’re going to defeat Hamas. We’re going to do whatever is necessary to minimize civilian casualties - something we believe in, but we have to defeat this terrorist Nazi army, otherwise there’s no future for anyone in the Middle East,” said Netanyahu. Notice he referenced the entirety of the Middle East, and not just Israel. Netanyahu is not a megalomaniac. He knows the importance of future treaties and alliances as were accomplished under Trump with the Abraham Accords.
“The leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate Chuck Schumer is a friend of Israel who helps her a lot even these days, but he made a mistake in his statement. Israel is a strong democracy, and only its citizens will determine its leadership and future. Any external intervention in the matter is incorrect and unacceptable,” concluded Gantz’s text.
No wonder Gantz is a diplomat - he offered much kinder, and more tactful words than Schumer deserved. Schumer’s words were offensive, threatening, contrary to appropriate behavior between allies, and a shonda - a disgrace.
Michael Herzog, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, also took issue with Schumer’s incongruous message on X. “Israel is a sovereign democracy. It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally. It is counterproductive to our common goals,” wrote Herzog.
“There is no substitute for total victory - we’ll achieve it,” said Netanyahu. “It’s either Israel or Hamas, there is no middle way. We have to have that victory we can’t have ¾ of a victory. We can’t have ⅔ of a victory, because Hamas will reconstitute itself, reconquer the Gaza Strip and do the October 7 massacre over, and over, and over, again. For the people of Israel, that’s the Red Line. We can’t let Hamas survive,” Netanyahu said.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
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