Jews in Israel and the diaspora awoke without a leader on October 8, the day after the worst crime against humanity since Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.
Even when someone considerably more deserving than Benjamin Netanyahu occupied the position, the prime minister of Israel has never been, officially speaking, the head of the Jewish people. Nonetheless, ensuring that Israel remains a haven for Jewish life is the prime minister’s most significant responsibility in the Jewish community.
Because the Jewish people have long memories, Netanyahu will always be seen as the guy who failed—not tragically or heroically, but in a self-centered, arrogant, and disgusting way. He is without moral authority, but he still holds political power.
Stepping into the void was Biden. I’ve read his speech on October 10 about the atrocities half a dozen times by now. Its political directness, emotional intensity, and moral clarity deserve a spot in any collection of outstanding American discourse.
The president said what Jews sorely needed to hear, without hesitation or the mealy-mouthed platitudes and evasions that characterized so many institutional remarks about the assault.
that “pure, unadulterated evil” was what the massacres were. That Hamas’s actions have “no excuse.” that rather than only having a passive “right,” Israel has an active “duty” to defend itself. The United States will honor its promise to establish a Jewish state by using a military buildup rather than flimsy declarations of solidarity.
A few days later, he referred to the attack as “barbarism that is as consequential as the Holocaust” in an interview with “60 Minutes.”
Political leaders who can continue to denounce barbarism by name and who are dedicated to seeing it through to the end are what we need. We need it, especially on the left, where some quarters of the political spectrum went back to criticizing Israel for its purported or predicted war crimes in a matter of days. These individuals occasionally act as though they support Israel’s right to self-defense but never have a workable plan for using that right to defend Israel from terrorists hiding among civilians.
Biden’s leadership is also necessary in light of the moral decay on the right. A particular brand of Jewish conservative spent the years of Donald Trump’s presidency berating me for believing that Israel has never had a finer ally in the White House.
Trump’s perception of Netanyahu has changed today, not so much because of his poor performance as his inability to forgive the prime minister for phoning Biden in 2020 to congratulate him on winning. Not to be outdone, Trump again referred to Hezbollah as “very smart” four days after the Hamas strikes. He remarked, “I got along with Vladimir Putin very good.”
Biden is now traveling to Israel. Given that Hezbollah could open a second front at any time and Hamas missiles are still falling indiscriminately on Israel, it’s a risky trip—even for a president with extensive security infrastructure.
It’s most likely that he will continue to do what he does best: comfort the grieving and provide courage to those who are afraid. In the face of relentless criticism from the right and opposition from the far left, this is statesmanship. The president is at his best right now.
