Joe Biden – a mensch and true friend of the Jewish community
Former US vice president Joe Biden has long been a staunch friend of the Jewish community, from his steadfast backing of the State of Israel to his intransigence in the face of antisemitism and hate crimes. The former vice president reaffirmed and further demonstrated his abiding relationship with American Jews last week in a video call with Jewish-American leaders.
He promised during the event, moderated by Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt and former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, that his administration would be attentive to the needs of our community. Biden reiterated that he would be an unwavering advocate for peace in the Middle East, telling us, “The fact is, I will reverse [President Donald] Trump’s undercutting of peace.”
Biden helped lead an administration that championed the funding of Israel’s Iron Dome program – despite the “frosty” reception the defense system received from president Barack Obama’s predecessor.
He was unequivocal when it came to Israel’s survival: “I will not place conditions on security assistance given the serious threat Israelis face.” He addressed a number of concerns for those of us in the pro-Israel community, from declaring anew his support for the Taylor Force Act, which would penalize the Palestinian Authority if it doles out payments to the families of terrorists, to calling on Palestinians to recognize Israel. Palestinians, he said need to “acknowledge, flat-out, Israel’s right to exist – period – as an independent Jewish state and guarantee the borders.”
The presumptive Democratic nominee also honed in on the growing menace of antisemitism, as American Jews confront a rash of hate crimes that have left a trail of death and destruction from Charlottesville to Pittsburgh to Poway to Jersey City. Once again, it was clear that he is no fair-weather ally, someone who turns up for votes and is nowhere to be found when the chips are down.
Biden has never minced words in denouncing the tendencies of the current occupant of the White House to condone and foment antisemitism and racism. He resolved to enter the presidential race after the white supremacist march in Charlottesville, whose shouts of “Jews will not replace us” continue to reverberate three years later.
Recently, on the first anniversary of the Poway shooting, he rolled out a plan to combat antisemitism and to call it out regardless of where it comes – “whatever the source, Right, Left or Center.”
Biden’s proposal would deliver tangibles for our communities: funds to protect our community centers and houses of worship, additional monies for law enforcement agencies racing to foil domestic terrorism, and education initiatives that would nip it in the bud. These issues will be at the top of his White House agenda.
Biden has also proven through deeds, not just words, that he is a true friend of ours. The then-Delaware senator made his first trip to the Jewish state on the eve of the Yom Kippur War and has ever since been an unswerving backer of providing military aid to and strengthening ties with the Middle East’s only democracy.
As vice president, he helped expand aid to Israel’s military to historically high levels, which allowed the Jewish state to bolster its defense, including with life-saving systems such as the Iron Dome, which protects its citizens from rocket attacks and other forms of terror.
He has never wavered in his opposition to the BDS movement and its efforts to delegitimize Israel and use a double standard against the world’s only Jewish state. He has remained committed to a two-state solution that would ensure Israel’s long-term viability as a Jewish democracy.
We can also count on him to hold the feet of Iran’s mullahs to the fire – he was critical to negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, the first agreement to place real limits on the state sponsor of terror’s nuclear program and, at least before Trump recklessly tore it up, kept Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Down the line, a Biden administration can be trusted to deliver on the issues that are most important to us as Americans and members of the Jewish community. We remember this month, Jewish History Month, our involvement in the various battles for equality, from the push for civil rights to the campaign for women’s liberation to the battle for workers’ rights. Biden has shared in those struggles, and we must send him to the White House.
We have savored victories with him and suffered setbacks and tragedies. We must remain true to that heritage this fall, when the fate of our values – and the America that we believe in – will be on the ballot. There could not be a clearer choice.
The writer is a former head of the National Jewish Democratic Council and a founder of Bluelight Strategies, a consulting firm based in Washington. He was one of the few cohosts of Biden’s recent event with the Jewish community.