The White House is widely seen as being caught between a rock and a hard place, as it continues to attract harsh and widespread criticism internationally, from the domestic public, and from the powerful Israeli lobby in the US for its unjust unilateral indulgence of Israel in its bloodbath against the Palestinians of Gaza.
Washington has sent billions of dollars in aid to the Israeli regime since October 7, has unilaterally supported Israel in the UN Security Council at the cost of its isolation, and is trying to stifle dissent in American universities by unleashing brutal and unprecedented violence against students opposed to Israel.
But in this case, the US seems to be losing on both sides. Joe Biden’s occasional and purely symbolic criticisms of Bibi Netanyahu have angered Israel’s donors, while his unfettered support for Netanyahu’s war is actually causing him to lose votes from the younger sections of the electorate. Things are not going well for Biden, and are expected to get worse as Israel has brazenly violated his only stated red line—attacking Rafah, resulting in more Palestinian civilian deaths—while suffering no evident consequences.
Jeffrey Sachs on student unrest
Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, a globally renowned economist and professor at Columbia University, has assessed the state of the Biden administration and reached the unequivocal conclusion that current US policy is tragic, destructive, unjust and contrary to international law. He also elaborates on the current situation in American universities and on Washington’s policy toward Israel.
In his opinion students are widely protesting Israel’s “murderous brutality” in Gaza, the United States’ “complicity” in that brutality, and the “urgent need to establish” a sovereign State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel. He fully supports the Arab Peace Initiative and the joint declaration by Arab and Islamic leaders in Riyadh on November 11, 2023. Dr. Sachs completely rejects the view, promoted by the Israeli lobby, that the student protests are anti-Semitic in nature, and insists that they are motivated only by the students’ desire for peace, tranquility and justice.
Administrators at many universities, including Columbia, have panicked in response to pressure from politicians and university donors, including many from the pro-Israel lobby as well as Israeli philanthropists. In his view, they should certainly not have called the police, as this was neither necessary nor appropriate. Instead, they should have engaged directly in dialog with the students. The university authorities should have taken the opportunity to promote learning, reflection and dialog within the university community. They should have encouraged teaching staff and students to look for ways to make peace. They should have respected the students’ right to protest and their heartfelt need to raise their voices against the slaughter taking place in Gaza, and they should recognize that there is a real need for peace and a two-state solution.
The Israeli lobby and many donors are trying to suppress and silence pro-Palestinian protests and the emerging debate on Palestinian rights. This is wrong because the more a person knows the history of the region, the clearer they can see the true path to peace and coexistence in the region. Achieving justice and political self-determination for Palestine through a two-State solution is in the interest not only of the region but also of the whole world.
Professors in nearly every American university are unanimous in condemning the injustice and illegality of Israel’s approach to the legitimate rights of Palestinians and Netanyahu’s violation of every conceivable international law. Naturally, US politicians are clumsily trying to refute these views, relying instead on conjecture and motivated by their own self-interest, but nevertheless these views are widely held and expressed by students, teachers and professors, and much of the US public wants to see a just peace in the region. The students who are now on the front lines of advocacy for Palestinians’ rights are calling for an immediate end to Israel’s war against Gaza, the constant shelling of territories in Syria and Lebanon, and for the state of Palestine to be welcomed as the 194th member state of the UN as part of a two-state solution.
A fair criticism of US policy toward Israel
And it is not only Jeffrey Sachs. Many people around the world believe that US policy is tragic, destructive, unjust and contrary to international law. The US is continually engaged in committing war crimes on many continents. The International Court of Justice may well soon determine that Israel is guilty of genocide in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention. This war must be stopped immediately by accepting Palestine as a member state of the UN and implementing the two-state solution without delay. The US, which is behaving like a bull in a china shop, is the only obstacle to this approach and is facilitating the continuation of the carnage in the Gaza Strip. It is very likely that Joe Biden’s unilateral resolution of the Gaza conflict in favor of Israel could negatively impact his prospects for reelection this November. It would reduce Biden’s support among his inner circle, and especially among younger voters. And, Professor Sachs argues, this approach is wrong, ill-considered and unacceptable.
There currently is much discussion in American society about whether Washington could some day adjust its policy toward Israel in response to ever-increasing pressure from the public. A change in policy is not only possible, but urgently needed and necessary for peace, according to a number of political analysts. And there are two factors at play that could lead to such a change. On the one hand, the US is increasingly isolated both in the UN and in global public opinion. The US is now the only obstacle to Palestine’s admission as a member of the UN and therefore to a two-state solution. On the other hand, the American public is also very unhappy with their country’s complicity in Israel’s unjust and bloody war. The combination of these two factors—geopolitical isolation and US public opinion—could lead to a shift in the current government’s policy towards Israel—a shift towards peace and a solution based on coexistence of two states, Palestine and Israel.
Viktor Mikhin, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”