Israel continues its genocidal slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli armed forces and bombs have killed over 25, 000 Palestinians — most of whom are civilians. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Andrew Blinken, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre continue to pretend that Israel’s murderous actions are justified; that Israel is just defending itself.
Now it seems that President Biden and his fellow warmongers want to expand the conflict in the Middle East to Yemen and the Houthis — both of whom are proxies for Iran. It would not surprise me to wake up one day and find out that the United States has dropped bombs not only on the Houthis, but Iran itself. This, of course, would spark a regional war that could result in thousands of casualties and horrific property and infrastructure destruction. Successive administrations had a hard-on for Iran, going back to the days when George H.W. Bush illegally invaded Iraq and Kuwait in the Gulf War. Biden’s approach to the Middle East is not that much different from that of the presidents who preceded him. Unwilling to stand up to Israel and its American supporters, Biden refuses to call out Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people. From illegal settlements, apartheid practices, and violence against innocent civilians, Biden says not a word, thinking that doing so is in his political best interest. What Biden will learn on election day is that he grossly underestimated American anger towards his callous, indifferent response to the plight of the Palestinian people. These angry Americans, many of whom are younger adults, vote. Biden’s actions have also outraged Arab-Americans, leading some Arab leaders to suggest that Biden risks losing their votes if he doesn’t change course.
Over the weekend, Representative Nancy Pelosi only made matters worse by saying that pro-Palestinian demonstrators were working on behalf of Russia’s president, Vladamir Putin, and called for some of them to be “investigated” by the FBI:
For them to call for a cease-fire is Mr. Putin’s message. Make no mistake, this is directly connected to what he would like to see. Same thing with Ukraine. It’s about Putin’s message. I think some of these protesters are spontaneous and organic and sincere. Some, I think, are connected to Russia.
When asked if she believed the protesters were “Russian plants,” Pelosi replied:
Seeds or plants. I think some financing should be investigated. And I want to ask the F.B.I. to investigate that.
After being called out for her anti-American, anti-First Amendment sentiments, Pelosi, in classic Capitol Hill fashion tried to cover her ass by releasing the following statement:
Speaker Pelosi has always supported and defended the right of all Americans to make their views known through peaceful protest. Speaker Pelosi is acutely aware of how foreign adversaries meddle in American politics to sow division and impact our elections, and she wants to see further investigation ahead of the 2024 election.
I hate to tell the former speaker of the House, but her bare ass is still showing. Suggesting that protesters of any stripe should be investigated by the FBI is reminiscent of the days of Edgar Hoover and Donald Trump’s presidency from 2016-2020; days when law enforcement and the power of the state were used to stifle dissent and protest.
Nihad Awad, The Council on American-Islamic Relations national executive director, condemned Rep. Pelosi’s statement:
Her comments once again show the negative impact of decades of dehumanization of the Palestinian people by those supporting Israeli apartheid. Instead of baselessly smearing those Americans as Russian collaborators, former House Speaker Pelosi and other political leaders should respect the will of the American people by calling for an end to the Netanyahu government’s genocidal war on the people of Gaza.
While losing the Arab vote — less than one percent of Americans are Arab — alone won’t cost Biden the election, added to an increasing number of disaffected younger Americans, it could tip the election in favor of the Republican Party. Biden has time to course correct, but I have no confidence that he will do so, or if he does, it will be too little too late, much like Hillary Clinton did in the 2016 presidential election.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Connect with me on social media:
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.
There are Egyptian and Palestinian communities near me in New York. I frequent their businesses and am friendly with some. They are no fans of Trump, but they are furious with Biden. If they are a reflection of Arab-Americans in the Detroit area—the largest A-A community in the US—they might punch well above their weight in the next election: Michigan is a “swing” state.
@MJ, (I’m from Michigan btw). Biden is likely to lose some support, but assuming he will do better (or the same) than 2020 election (154,000-vote victory) but subtract every Arab Muslim in Michigan he could possibly lose.
There are different groups :
Syrian and Lebanese – 100,000
Iraqi-Chaldean – 60,000;
Palestinian and Jordanian – 25,000;
Yemeni – 10,000;
5,000 from other Arab countries
Chaldeans are Catholics so I doubt there would be any net ant-Biden vote.
Many can’t vote at all because they aren’t citizens, under age. Many don’t vote (because many people who can don’t) Then there is no monolith.
It will be interesting to see if there IS an effect, I rather doubt it. But especially if Biden loses one or more states that he previously won, it might come down to Michigan.
A Few things to keep in mind:
1. Hamas and their supporters are intent on the destruction Israel, and Genocide of the Israeli people.
2. Biden is walking a fine line between providing support for Israel, and preventing a full scale war in the Middle East.
3. Trump and his Republican’s, like many Fundamentalist Christians, welcome the Genocide of the Palestinian people. They wish for World War III starting in the Middle East to bring about Armageddon and the return of their Savior. Though at this point many probably think Christ has already returned in the form of Donald Trump.
They do say God sent Trump so he is God’s messenger. That idea is so mad it indicts Christianity as hopeless far as I’m concerned.
Gruesome details of Israel’s (mis) treatment of Palestinians finally enters the consciousness of a substantial cohort of the American public as demolition of the Gaza “reservation” and slaughter of it’s inhabitants rages. Main stream news reports primarily the Israeli viewpoint, featuring every bit of suffering by Israelis with little or no mention of the injustice and disproportionate harm inflicted on Palestinians. I only became aware of the (mis) treatment of Palestinians when I moved to the big city of LA where alternative news media reported it in detail. It outraged me and influenced my politics forever. Growing up a poor outsider in a little town, I identify as an underdog and Jews seemed like my kind of people so I sympathized and identified, even thinking I’d like to be a Jew. Unbiased news doused my illusions that Israel could do no wrong. Unfortunately politicians and media seem incapable of treating Israel even handedly. The sudden violence Hamas unleashed was not unprovoked as media tells us. It’s in response to slow motion daily violence inflicted on an oppressed occupied people. It triggered massively disproportionate retaliation and brutal slaughter reminiscent of Nazi retaliation against partisans. In spite of Hell it’s still reported casting Israel as oppressed and Palestinians as bad guys. It is indeed an ill wind that blows no good and this latest conflagration is so extreme even the most partisan news may report, and the most butt-headed Americans may take note, the Jewish state, (as Netanyahu declared it) occupies Palestine by force of arms, dispossesses it’s legitimate owners, oppresses remaining Palestinian inhabitants who refuse to or can’t leave, and finally forced refugees into a walled off reservation called Gaza. I’m hopeful (not optimistic) American voters finally demand politicians stand up to the powerful Jewish lobby that has so much power Israel is called the fifty first state.
I am afraid Uncle Joe has shot himself in the foot (again) with his refusal to call for Israel to back off. I’ll still vote against Trump no matter who Democrats run but it will be even more distasteful than last time to vote for Joe. Hey Joe, at least attach conditions on the ten plus million Dollar DAILY GIFT from the USA. Israel annually gets $3.65 billion Dollars free money, another fact our media never mentions. It’s a grant, not to be repaid, yet you’ll never hear from budget hawks about it.
The holocaust earned the Jews an almost unlimited reserve of good will. It can’t justify a holocaust on another people, particularly a people who never oppressed Israel. Intractable Israeli leaders justify with religion saying God gave them Israel. Too bad for folks who don’t subscribe to the same God or any God. It’s a glaring reminder religion as government is inherently unjust and must be opposed and resisted at all costs.
I submit the United States single handedly is to blame for Israeli behavior. If my Cousins in Europe are any indication, Europeans blame America’s unconditional support for Israel’s behavior which will continue apace only as long as they have it.
Netanyahu is facing corruption charges,and as long as he can keep the Gaza war going, he can avoid facing the music. He doesn’t care if this triggers a world war,or not. It’s not like HE has to go directly into battle alongside those IDF forces,he gets to his in his ritzy villa while directing this conflict. I do know that these leaders of Hamas are super wealthy and are oligarchs themselves, and keeping the people in Gaza living under poor living standards fuels their daily frustrations and rage, basically a standing army of bored, poor angry young guys. And yeah, after three of our soldiers were killed there in Jordan now, the treat of a wider war is a given, it’s already here. Iran is a Putin Ally, this bodes ill for any peace there. By the way, I just heard on the radio that Ohio will be using the nitrogen gas for executions. Why not use Fentanyl for this, or Propofol ? It’s both fast and cheap.
GenZ are furious over the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. They’ll just sit out the election if things continue as they are.
Yes and I’m afraid with our silly Mickey Mouse electoral College system, “stay homes” could put Trump back in office. I hope Trump’s outrageousness over rides everyone’s disgust and disappointment with old uncle Joe. Joe will almost certainly not survive another five years. It would be a blessing (can I say blessing here?) if Joe would just go now instead of in a couple years.
I think it is pretty safe to say that the effect against Biden will be negligible. Incumbency advantage and a decent economy tends to get presidents re-elected. We have early indications because primaries have already started. The write in New Hampshire for “Ceasefire Now!” only got 1500 votes. Biden won in the write in* big time though (Biden 79,455). The progressive wing of the Democrats is rather small. There are a handful in congress and one Senator. Note that Sanders has (and most of the others) will likely endorse Biden as well.
*Why was Biden a write in candidate? DNC tried to move the first primary to South Carolina, and New Hampshire didn’t oblige… So Biden didn’t get on the ballot in N.H.
I hope your take is right. It’s a poor choice between don’t like and I like even less but it’s the choice we get. Democracy, our form, (small d,) needs some refinements to make it more representative. Frequently I have no real choice. The framers of the constitution were amazingly prescient but I wish they had left us easier safer ways to refine the system.
Electoral College