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President Joe Biden needs the Gaza war to end. It is shattering the Democratic coalition, which requires both Jewish and Muslim voters, and both progressives and moderates, to flock to the polls. This faraway war, no less than woke overreach or immigration, could return former President Donald Trump to the White House.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs the Gaza war to continue because he wants to put as much time as possible between the Oct. 7 cataclysm—when his government's rookie mistakes enabled Hamas to massacre 1,200 people—and an election in which polls say he'd be trounced.
Once you realize these things, you understand why the two are at loggerheads. It has gotten to the point that the U.S. administration last week made public that it was withholding key munitions needed for Israel's war effort. Biden's move has led some on the right to call for his impeachment. (Same as it ever was).
If there is one thing that has surprised me in some three decades of covering international news on four continents, it is the reluctance of leaders to address people directly with effective public diplomacy. It's nice for journalists to be conduits—it's one of the few things that keeps us in business! But circumventing us could often be much more effective. With that in mind, here's a speech that Biden could direct at the Israeli people that might move the needle.
"Good morning.
"You know, I'm often mocked for being so darn old, but one of the advantages of it is that I got to be around when things happened. In fact, I was 6 years old, when the State of Israel was born in 1948. Even as a kid, I remember how it filled me with awe that out of the ashes of a tough history, the Jewish people carved out for themselves a place under the sun. That sense of justice served has been with me ever since and is the reason why when I came to Israel in 2022 to meet your excellent prime minister, Yair Lapid, I am happy to say that I did so as a Zionist.
"These well-meaning but clueless kids on campus who talk a lot of nonsense against Zionism—ignore them. They'll grow up one day. Let me tell it to you straight: Most Americans support you and understand that your fight against these evil Hamas terrorists is just.
"Heck, any Palestinian who has a clue knows that Hamas is the reason why they don't yet have a state. Hamas has been trying to mess up the peace process with terrorist attacks for over 30 years. These criminals and their jihadi fellow travelers would establish an Islamic caliphate in the United States as well if they could. We know it, and let me tell you that we support your effort to get them the heck out of power in Gaza. It would be a favor to the Palestinians.
"But, my Israeli friends, this is where the good news ends and the bad news begins. Israel is in a really tough spot, one of the toughest ever, and it needs all the friends it can get, and we here in America are the best of friends. But that kind of situation requires a patriot at the helm. Decent enough to do the right thing. Deft enough to do it the right way. And I hate to tell you that your current leader is in it for himself.
"I have come to the conclusion that Bibi Netanyahu is just trying to drag out the war in hopes that my opponent will win the election. He assumes my opponent won't pressure him to do peace deals or to take great care with civilians, and he's probably right about that. My opponent is immoral. But let me tell you, he's also no Zionist. He doesn't really care about Israel, and I doubt he cares two bits about America. He cares only for himself, a little bit like Bibi.
"You may not know it, but the Gaza war basically ended four months ago. Since then, your army has been dragging its feet and dealing with a low-grade insurrection, a little like what our guys faced in Iraq for something like a decade. Trust me, that doesn't end well.
"Your government is lying to you when I says I stopped them from finishing off Hamas in some last hurrah in Rafah, where Hamas is now holed up. I did no such thing. I'd love to see Hamas routed. But I did say that Israel needed to get the million or so displaced people from elsewhere in Gaza out of harm's way first. There's a limit to what I can do to protect you if there's a bloodbath.
"I almost just said that I can't for the life of me figure out why this hasn't yet been done. But I caught myself in time: It's clear why it wasn't done. Bibi wants the war to go on, and he doesn't really want to have a final fight against Hamas, and he doesn't care much if people die, including the hostages. I hate to say it, too.
"All this is a total violation of Israel's military doctrine that dates back to when I was a kid in Scranton, by the way. The doctrine was clear. First, keep the fight off your territory at all cost, because the country is so small that it lacks strategic depth; second, aim for a quick victory because your military is mostly reserves and therefore a long war hobbles your economy; and third, leverage that victory for achieving your diplomatic ends.
"Let me ask you one thing, my dear Israeli friends: You know what diplomatic ends your government has? Well, neither do I. For seven months Bibi has refused to discuss what happens after Hamas is gone. The reason is because his far-right coalition partners won't let him, since they want endless war. He gives in to this because his only real diplomatic end is survival.
"Israel should have done quickly all it could, and also not messed with humanitarian supplies. That's never a good look. So, with Israel shooting itself in the foot all the time, my staff and I worked long hours to sketch out a pretty good deal for Israel. Peace with Saudi Arabia and other countries as part of a U.S.-backed regional coalition against Iran, with the Palestinian Authority, new and improved, returned to Gaza from which it was kicked out by Hamas in 2007. Israel itself has been demanding all these things for years—but now Bibi says no.
"Do you really want to let Bibi bamboozle you with a needless forever war with Hamas hanging around Gaza until the cows come home? That's up to you, but there'll be cost. Israel isn't a vassal of America, so you can do what you want, but America sure as heck isn't a vassal of Israel. I don't have to support idiotic policies that harm Israel—and that's what your government is doing.
"You don't need to be a people who dwell alone. You can't, either. When you repelled the Iranian missile attack a few weeks ago, that was with our help. You want to sacrifice that kind of alliance because your government is nuts?
"It's an odd situation when the government in Washington cares more about Israel than the government in Jerusalem, but those are the cards we've been dealt, folks. So, I'm calling on the Knesset to dissolve itself and hold a new election right now.
"I couldn't believe that an Israeli leader would value his own survival over the fate of his people—and the Jewish people around the world—but it's staring us all in the face today. Benjamin Netanyahu is a disgrace to his people."
Dan Perry is the former Cairo-based Middle East editor and London-based Europe/Africa editor of the Associated Press. Follow him at danperry.substack.com.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
