President Joe Biden had a very interesting phone call with PM Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel yesterday.
After months of pressure, specifically from Progressives in the Democrat Party, Biden announced he needs to see a more concerted effort to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians, or else there will be conditions to receive American weapons going forward.
I find that often times, nuance in these conversations gets eschewed in the name of siding with the “good” guys.
There has been PLENTY of wrongdoing between these 2 states since the end of WWII, and to ignore that would be a dishonest way to have this conversation.
The saddest part (from my perspective at least), is that this entire conflict was borne out of an effort to correct one of the most evil acts in human history. And you can call me naïve, young, or misguided, but years from now, I still think we still have the potential to look at this effort as a tremendous achievement of the human spirit, in the interest of coming together.
That will only be achievable though strong, cogent, and clear leadership.
Since October 7th, I have not kept it a secret that I consistently oppose the mistreatment of Palestinian civilians, while also acknowledging that Israel not only has the right to defend itself, but also to retrieve the hostages from Hamas.
Realistically though, Israel’s efforts have gone well beyond the pale, with next to no pushback from the United States.
Whether we’re talking about man-made starvation, plans for the land in Gaza after the offensive, or what seems like blatant disregard for the life of women and children, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has teetered on what more and more entities are referring to as a genocide.
For the last 6 months, regardless of rulings from international courts, the UN, or other leaders around the world, the United States and Joe Biden have remained steadfast in continuing to supply the weapons necessary to carry out such an assault.
Until yesterday, that is.
President Biden has stipulated that things must change for the civilians of Gaza, if Israel expects to continue receiving American weapons, and while I haven’t seen any reporting on this yet, I genuinely believe it was this week’s spring election in Wisconsin that was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back.
It’s no secret that around the country, a protest vote has gained some momentum, known as the uncommitted vote. In Wisconsin, it was the uninstructed vote.
Individuals organizing the protest were hoping to achieve just under 21,000 uninstructed votes, which was the margin of Joe Biden’s victory in 2020.
They more than doubled it.
Clearly, there is a level of frustration that has been brewing for quite a while within the Democratic Party, and after Tuesday, it looks like that effort can no longer be ignored.
While we were only the most recent state to hold the vote, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that this call happened less than 48 hours after the results were announced.
This is just barely scratching the surface of my thoughts on the issue.
If you’ve made it this far into the article and want to hear more, click the player at the top of the article for an deep dive into my thoughts on the matter.
[Spreaker: Outside the Box; www.timesofisrael.com
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/22/obstacles-to-gaza-aid-deliveries-visual-guide
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68379646]
