US Support for Israel: Stop the Double Standard

On the one hand, Joe Biden’s administration is defending Israel, which continues its assault on the Palestinian territory of Gaza under the guise of mopping up the Islamic organization Hamas, while at the same time, the administration harshly criticizes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many Arab countries are criticizing the double standard.

If the U.S. continues to support Israel’s excessive counteroffensive, Palestine and other Arab nations will increase their opposition, giving Russia and other such countries a gap to exploit. There should be a return to the foundational focus on humanity, which posits that no one is permitted to carry out attacks that disregard the safety of citizens.

On May 26, Israel conducted aerial bombing on Rafah in southern Gaza, where many refugees were gathered, killing 45 people. On May 24, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to suspend its offensive. The number of civilian casualties continues to grow, and according to health authorities in the area, the death count since the conflict began last October has exceeded 36,000.

The international community, which is growing increasingly concerned about the dire humanitarian situation, has voted in the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council for resolutions calling for an immediate cease-fire, but the U.S. has opposed and vetoed them, taking a protective position on Israel.

However, even within the U.S., sympathy for Palestine is visibly growing among young people and the Democratic Party support base.

According to the Gallup research agency, in March, the approval rating for Israel was 18% in contrast with the disapproval rate, which had climbed to 75%. A series of anti-Israel student demonstrations took place on U.S. university campuses, and Biden, who is eyeing a second term in the upcoming presidential election, saw his own approval rating flounder in connection with the situation.

Given the situation, the Biden administration is also changing its position. On March 25, for the first time, the U.S. abstained from voting instead of exercising its right to veto on a U.N. Security Council resolution seeking an immediate cease-fire, signaling a tacit approval of adopting a cease-fire.

Furthermore, in early May, Biden stated in an interview that if Israel invaded Rafah, he would “not [be] supplying the weapons.”

Immediately thereafter, the U.S. government announced that Israel had possibly used weapons which the U.S. had supplied, in ways that violate international humanitarian law.

However, on May 20, when a prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, which adjudicates charges of war crimes and other offenses, issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on war crime charges, Biden decried the move as “outrageous.” Israel’s aerial bombing of Rafah, which killed many civilians, occurred shortly thereafter.

To improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the U.S. should replace defending Israel and providing it weapons with advocating for peace and order. The U.S. should bear this responsibility.