Jon Favreau, former Obama speechwriter for President Barack Obama has termed called Joe Biden’s response to Israel’s recent airstrike as ‘weak’
Jon Favreau, former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, criticized President Joe Biden’s response to Israel’s recent airstrike that killed seven aid workers, calling it “weak” and suggesting that Biden’s “private anger” is insufficient without leveraging change from the Israeli government.
Favreau stated, “The President doesn’t get credit for being ‘privately enraged’ when he still refuses to use leverage to stop the IDF from killing and starving innocent people.” He added, “These stories only make him look weak.”
Favreau’s comments came in response to a Politico report, citing senior officials, which indicated that Biden has no intention of altering his current Israeli policies. A source from the report described the U.S. government’s reluctance to challenge the Israeli government as “regrettable.”
“It’s just rinse and repeat with the Israelis. The American political system can’t or won’t draw a real line with them and that is regrettable,” said a senior U.S. official told Politico.
Despite his criticism og Biden’s Israel policy Favreau maintains he is a Democrat supporter and would vote for Biden, “I’m voting for Joe Biden, campaigning for Joe Biden, love most of what Joe Biden has done, but hate his Israel policy and want it to change. Not sure why that’s hard to get.”
7 World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Israeli attacks
The Israeli airstrike, which took place on Monday, targeted humanitarian aid workers from the World Central Kitchen, killing seven individuals, including a U.S.-Canadian citizen. Israel has claimed the incident was accidental and is reviewing its protocols to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
White House spokesman John Kirby acknowledged that thousands of civilians, including over 200 aid workers, have been killed in Gaza so far.
Republicans have criticized Biden for directing his anger towards Israel instead of Hamas, the group responsible for initiating the conflict in October.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) commented, “How about Biden being outraged over the American and Israeli hostages being brutalized by the Hamas savages and remembering that Hamas is the cause of all of this tragedy. Biden has abandoned Israel. I have not.”
While Biden has denounced Hamas and supported Israel following the terrorist group’s actions, his support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has diminished as Palestinian civilian casualties continue to rise.
Biden’s handling of the Israel war has also faced criticism within his own party. In several Democratic primaries, tens of thousands of Democratic voters chose to vote “uncommitted” or “uninstructed” on Tuesday night. Despite this, Biden still won all of the primaries.