While President Biden’s critics howl and run around about his son, how’s he doing in his primary responsibility?
Judging by the wall-to-wall coverage of the visit, with analysts hailing all the moves and gestures of the American leader, Biden clearly captured the hearts of Israelis. He managed that despite being considered a political “leftist” in Israeli terms, and an antithesis to his predecessor Donald Trump, who is more popular in Israel than in the United States. Biden was warm, attentive and sometimes funny. His love for Israel is clearly authentic and inspires trust. He is not ashamed of it, taking pride in it. Israelis love it, ignoring the fact that Biden is the last Democrat of his kind. [Ben Caspit, AL-Monitor]
But…
The “Jerusalem Declaration” signed by the two leaders during the visit, which spoke of the values shared by their countries, could become irrelevant if Israel continues its slide to the right, becoming more conservative and religious, less democratic and liberal. Israel’s distancing from the Democratic Party in recent years and from the mainstream of American Jewry is one of the most worrisome processes that threaten Israeli national security these days.
Hard to fault that after the teeth-gritting, for everyone but Trump and Trumpists, requirement that he play nice with Crown Prince and alleged murderer Mohammed bin Salman.
