President Biden is facing a critical moment on an issue that threatens to capsize his reelection hopes — the conflict in Gaza. The president has put his full weight behind a push for a six-week cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that could, he says, lead to a permanent cessation of hostilities. But it is a risky gambit for a multitude of reasons.
For a start, Biden is caught in politically dangerous crosscurrents. The left wants him to put far greater restraints on Israel. Pro-Israel Democrats are wary of any signs of a dilution of U.
S. support. And Republicans stand eager to condemn him as being “soft on terror.
” Meanwhile, there is the more practical danger that the proposed deal could founder on the rocks of Israeli or Palestinian resistance. Such a prospect would deplete Biden’s political capital even further. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll last month showed Biden with his lowest approval yet on his handling of the conflict — just 36 percent.
As the cease-fire maneuvers continue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited to Washington to address Congress. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.
) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in the end signed on to the letter formally inviting Netanyahu , which originated with Republicans.
But progressives are sure to protest a visit from a foreign leader who stands suspected of war crimes. Even Biden — in a new interview with Time magazine published Tuesday — suggested Netanyahu could.
