Dear Palestine Im Sorry.
I would like to preface this article by saying that the actions of the IDF in the Gaza strip are absolutely horrific and i condemn it with the strongest words possible. I would also like to say that i am completely disgusted by my government, my president’s continued support of such brutality and war crimes. I am also more than aware that Hamas’ actions have been horrible as well.
While I am disgusted at President Biden’s continued support of Israel, as an American I am being forced to choose the lesser of two evils this November and there is not a doubt in my mind which evil to choose. I believe that there is a 0% chance Donald Trump will give any sort of support to the Palestinian people but in President Biden’s theoretical second term I could easily envision a regress in support for Israel. This is thanks to there being no risk of losing re-election as he’s already constrained by term limits and the threshold for impeachment is too high, so there would be very little stopping the President from the withdrawal of US aid or a huge increase in pressure on the Israeli government. I believe that deep down, Joe Biden believes what Israel is doing is wrong, i have no evidence for this and i could easily be wrong but I believe if given the chance he would stop it and in a second term, there is very little stopping him.
You are probably asking, then why not push for it now? Because, unfortunately, while a sizeable portion of the country are pro Palestine, such a group is traditionally younger and can’t vote yet or haven’t had years to amass a sizeable warchest which can be used to fund candidates who abide by their views. President Biden’s largest donor in 2020 was Jewish and Zionist and it took 3 billion dollars for Biden to win so every penny counts.
Therefore, despite being unapologetically pro Palestine, I will not be writing to my representatives in support of Palestine, until that cold November day when Biden is re-elected. Overall Biden taking a rigid pro-Palestine stance would alienate several older Jewish zionists who would have no problem voting for and donating to Donald Trump. However Arab-Americans especially in swing states like Michigan are much more likely to just not vote than to vote for Trump due to his strong anti-Arab and Islamophobic rhetoric which the DNC will have playing on loop in every TV in Michigan from August to November.
This is a genuinely hard position to take and every day the reports out of, Gaza andmost recently Rafah make it sickeningly difficult. But Donald Trump’s election would be devastating for Women, Muslim Americans, Hispanic Americans, Queer Americans and the world as a whole. So I see turning a blind eye to President Biden’s action as a necessary sacrifice, however horrible, to prevent a much greater evil.
This does not mean that we should allow our politicians especially those who have power over the entire country as well as basically all foreign affairs, to go unchecked. But we are in the unfortunate position of having to choose the lesser of two evils and one evil, at least in my eyes is far less evil. We of course still need to keep our politicians in line, its the fundamental of our democracy, so it’s important for you to make your own assessments as to if you would support Biden but i would incur you to as of now refrain because there is no world in which Trump would be a kinder hand to the palestinian people and there are no other options. RFK Jr, has no chance to win, whoever the green and libertarian parties are running is cursed with being a member of such a tiny party and will not have a real effect other than damaging the chances of similar candidates.
So before you criticise Biden, consider the alternative and how close we are to potentially having another Trump presidency, consider how much worse that would be for not only Palestinians but people the world over. However I incur you to, as soon as the race is officially called, don’t just write to your representatives, scream at them, storm the streets in protest and make your voices heard. As of now my focus is unfortunately not on the Palestinian people but on ending the long national nightmare that is Donald Trump and believe me, if my assessment of Biden is wrong and he is in fact less sympathetic to the palestinian cause then i will make my voice heard. In fact i will do so the day he is re-elected because then the barrier to saving and improving so many lives is so low that not breaking it would be cruel.
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