The Unshakable Humor of Joe Biden

Either Joe Biden simply forgot to revise his speech one more time, or the U.S. vice president has a sense of humor that does not even spare diplomatic upsets. During his speech at the University of Tel Aviv, Biden said he was “struck by the hospitality of the Israeli people.”

Indeed, it was quite overwhelming when the Israeli interior ministry announced the approval of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem precisely during Biden’s visit and thus jeopardized America’s efforts to bring Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

However, and despite the diplomatic incident, Biden tried hard in his speech to secure Israel’s confidence in the American government: “President Barack Obama and myself know that the U.S. has no better friend in the community of nations than Israel.” Moreover, the audience must have been quite pleased to hear his reassurance that the U.S. would not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear armament. Biden noted that the Islamic Republic had been becoming increasingly dangerous over the past few years and that it tried to intimidate its neighbors and its own people.

But Biden did not only share kindness and affection. He also demanded the immediate beginning of indirect peace negotiations. The status quo was untenable, he said. The demographic situation made it very difficult for Israel to be both a Jewish and democratic state. Maybe the vice president had glanced at the country’s English-language newspapers that morning: Their front pages announced the alarming results of a survey among Israeli teenagers. Apparently, 49.5 percent of Israeli high school students disapprove of Arabic citizens holding the same rights as Jews. And although the majority believes democracy to be the best form of government, major problems seem to exist regarding the comprehension of the term democracy.

The uproar over the granted construction approvals in East Jerusalem also did not go unmentioned in Biden’s speech. He admitted that he was aware of the fact that the question of home construction in East Jerusalem was “a touchy subject” in Israel. He had to bluntly condemn the decision, however, because it strained the bond of trust between the two opposing parties. Sometimes, only a friend can deliver the hardest truth. Nevertheless, he was content with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s explanation: He had assured him that the buildings would most likely not become a reality for years. “That’s significant, because it gives negotiations the time to resolve this, as well as other outstanding issues.” Biden said. The Palestinians, too, had misunderstood the decision and expected an immediate start of construction.

Although he knew about the difficulties, Biden considers peace in the Middle East possible. For the first time, a well-trained and disciplined police force brings order into the Palestinian-administered areas. Both Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas are “willing partners who share the goal of peace,” Biden claimed.

One should still assume, however, that the next conflict will not be long in coming. According to the newspaper Haaretz, 50,000 additional housing units in East Jerusalem are at different planning stages. The majority of them will be built in Jewish neighborhoods. Palestinians fear that the realization of these plans would exacerbate the future division of Jerusalem. The expansion of the Jewish quarters, which form a ring around the Arabic east side of the city, not only prevents the growth of the neighboring Arabic quarters but also separates the Palestinians’ capital of choice from their future national territory. In addition, Jewish settlement organizations increasingly build houses in Arabic areas.