Anyone anticipating significant progress or even directional clarity arising from the 13-16 July visit by US President Joe Biden and his entourage of 1,100 (yes, really) to the Middle East would now be disappointed. The trip was in part an embarrassment and highlighted the ineffectiveness of the President and US policy under the Biden administration.
Biden on arrival said, ‘You need not be a Jew to be a Zionist.’ It was a sentiment well received as supportive of Israel. Yet prior to his arrival Biden announced restoration of $500 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which incites hatred and pays terrorists for killing Jews in Israel. This aid is in direct contravention of US law, specifically the Taylor Force Act which conditions US aid on the cessation of terrorism funding.
We saw on display again signs of a man well past his prime. At times Biden looked confused and hesitant, or held out his hand as if to shake hands with thin air, attracting a wave of mockery on social media. On arrival in Israel, Biden spoke of the Holocaust, the need to honour the six million Jews murdered, and to remember the horror of the Holocaust; however, he mixed up honour for horror when referencing the Holocaust, awkwardly correcting himself.
Read the article by David Adler in The Spectator.