President Biden (age 80) is perhaps the last Democrat to make it to the top in the generation that sort of loved Israel. Bill Clinton (age 76) was in this group; you could argue the same about Nancy Pelosi (83) and Steny Hoyer (84). They were raised in the 1940s and 1950s; they lived through the wars of 1956, 1967, and 1973; they watched Yasser Arafat lead terrorist attacks and say no to every offer of peace.
Biden’s line during the 2021 clashes between Israel and Hamas was typical: “There is no shift in my commitment . . . to the security of Israel, period.” Receiving the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor in 2022, he said “as long as we’re the United States, you will never, ever be alone” and “I can say without hesitation that being known as a friend of Israel and receiving this award today is among the greatest honors of my career. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
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