I just want to make a simple point today to all those people who are mad at Joe Biden for continuing to support Israel while the Netanyahu regime obliterates Gaza. And that is: if you think Biden doesn’t care enough about Gaza, wait until you see President Trump.

Again, if you think Biden doesn’t care enough about Gaza, wait until you see President Trump.

First of all, let’s acknowledge that this is tearing the left apart. There are many good reasons for the United States to support Israel, and most of them are set forth in Ken Burns’ film, the US and the Holocaust. These reasons are, however, more compelling for my generation than for the generation that is currently in college.

A number of people have pointed out that it is entirely possible to be both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian at the same time. Both populations have been traumatized in very profound ways; we can (and should) care about the welfare of both populations.

However, as the journalist Peter Beinart (who happens to be Jewish) has pointed out in his book “The Crisis of Zionism,”

The shift from Jewish powerlessness to Jewish power has been so profound, and in historical terms so rapid, that it has outpaced the way many Jews think about themselves.  

That power has, of course, been exercised primarily in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the territories promised to the Palestinians a long time ago.

What is happening in Gaza at the current time is a small holocaust, perpetrated on the Palestinians by the Netanyahu administration. In a way, it is exactly what one might have expected form this administration in response to the the suicidal vengenance attack that Hamas perpetrated on October 7th. 

(No one has yet to offer a convincing explanation for why Hamas chose to engage in this attack, and what they hoped to accomplish, but that is a topic for another day.)

The decimation of Gaza has spawned a new term, “domicide,” which is the mass destruction of the homes of a civilian population. It’s estimated (as of early February) that more than 70,000 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed and nearly 300,000 have been damaged. Taken together, it represents 60% of all housing units in the Gaza Strip. And Israel is a long way from ending its assault on Gaza.

Now, the phrase “never again” is a slogan used for the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. It doesn’t apply just to what was done to the Jewish people. It applies (or is supposed to apply) to any genocide.

And here we are.

Joe Biden is in a very difficult situation. By all accounts, Biden’s support for Israel is deeply felt and genuine. And, he recognizes that what is happening in Gaza is an absolute tradgedy. But, he has no control over Benjamin Netanyahu, who is positively a war criminal.

So what would happen if Trump were to become President? Trump, as is well known, is a close collaborator with Netanyahu. They have a lot in common, including that Netanyahu, like Trump, has been officially indicted, in his case for breach of trust, accepting bribes, and fraud. Jared Kushner has opined that Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable. It’s pretty obvious where this gang is headed.

Trump and his partisans would do absolutely nothing for Gaza, just as they would do absolutely nothing for Ukraine.

So, if you don’t want to vote for Biden because you think that he doesn’t care enough about Gaza, wait until you see President Trump.