By masking support for Israel with hollow humanitarian gestures and empathy for Palestinians, Biden and Harris have diluted pressure to end the war. Why the Democrats were Israel's perfect partners in genocide
We must recognize that there is danger not just in overt extremism, but in performative empathy that actively preserves the status quo. Because the truth is, there is no “lesser evil.” And as we argue over this and obsess over the differences between administrations that share the same genocidal goals but employ different tactics, the pile of Palestinian and Lebanese bodies only grows. Biden went into his reelection campaign wrestling with Donald Trump for the title of “Israel’s best friend” — a grotesque race to the bottom that has become a tradition during U.S. election seasons. So when the president ultimately decided to drop out, some were hopeful that Vice President Kamala Harris would release us from this downward spiral. They were soon disappointed. Media outlets eagerly insisted that Harris seemed to show “greater understanding and empathy for Palestinians,” and surmised that such a difference in perspective might lead to a change in policy. But in the months since assuming the head of the Democratic ticket, Harris has made it clear that she is ready and eager to carry on Biden’s catastrophic legacy for the next four years. While Harris may not harbor as much of Biden’s Zionist zeal, she has repeatedly promised that she will continue Biden’s genocidal legacy. When not dodging questions about why her administration’s “tireless” efforts to secure a ceasefire have so far failed and how her approach would differ from Biden’s, Harris has reiterated her “commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself.” | | | | | | | | | | | Let's dispel the myth that Harris will be any different from Biden on Ga... If there was any hope that Harris’ approach would be meaningfully different than Biden’s, those hopes were dashe... | | | This might sound like a vague slogan, devoid of policy specifics. But the intent is as explicit as can be: Harris will continue using U.S. power to shield Israel from accountability in pursuit of “Israel’s defense” and will keep weapon shipments flowing to ensure Israel can “defend itself.” Harris’ empathetic rhetoric, which does not deviate much from Biden’s, will be just as empty and distracting. A ‘lesser evil’? Many who oppose the current administration’s unconditional support for Israel have argued that, with Trump as the alternative, Biden and Harris still represent the “lesser evil.” But this reasoning ignores both the consequences of their empty, distracting rhetoric on domestic and international opposition, and the fact that the Biden and Harris administration’s policy resume, even long before October 7, closely mirrors its predecessor’s. Since day one, the Biden administration has upheld Trump’s most controversial moves: keeping the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, failing to reopen the PLO mission in Washington, and desperately seeking normalization agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors that erase Palestinians entirely. While Biden restored funding to UNRWA, his administration promptly cut it again under pressure from an Israeli smear campaign. The only discernible policy difference has been Biden’s largely ineffectual sanctions campaign targeting Israeli settlers who continue to attack Palestinians throughout the West Bank. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has given Israel more financial and military assistance than any previous administration. All the Biden and Harris administration has done is perpetuate the same genocide under a veneer of legitimacy — diffusing pressure with platitudes about peace while deepening U.S. complicity. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#33298): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/33298 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/109369593/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
