The Week: Biden Abandons Israel in Her Hour of Need

• Out: cognitive tests for candidates. In: brain-worm tests.

• On the same day President Biden gave a speech linking the Holocaust to Hamas’s October 7 massacre, it was confirmed that his administration had paused delivery of lethal aid to Israel over its intention to invade Rafah in southern Gaza—an invasion necessary to destroy Hamas and prevent future attacks. It seems contradictory. Biden made clear in his speech that, for him, “Never again” means “Never forget.” But “Never again” requires taking actions today that may be politically difficult in real time. Mounting pressure within the Democratic Party has crushed Biden’s prior resolve. To say as the Biden administration does that an attack on Rafah threatens too many civilians—in a war against an enemy that deliberately hides behind civilians—is to say that Israel cannot be allowed to defeat Hamas. The foolishness of such a policy was made clear just before Israel entered Rafah, when a Hamas “cease-fire” proposal turned out to be a charade: Among other things, it stipulated that the 33 hostages to be traded in exchange for a cease-fire would include hostages already dead. Biden’s indulgence of Hamas and pressure on Israel encourage precisely such behavior. His actions also embolden Iran and its other terror proxies. If “Never again” actually means “Never again,” then it requires supporting the world’s only Jewish state in its efforts to destroy the terrorist group that is responsible for that horrific attack so that it can never massacre Jews again.

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• Out: cognitive tests for candidates. In: brain-worm tests.

• On the same day President Biden gave a speech linking the Holocaust to Hamas’s October 7 massacre, it was confirmed that his administration had paused delivery of lethal aid to Israel over its intention to invade Rafah in southern Gaza—an invasion necessary to destroy Hamas and prevent future attacks. It seems contradictory. Biden made clear in his speech that, for him, “Never again” means “Never forget.” But “Never again” requires taking actions today that may be politically difficult in real time. Mounting pressure within the Democratic Party has crushed Biden’s prior resolve. To say as the Biden administration does that an attack on Rafah threatens too many civilians—in a war against an enemy that deliberately hides behind civilians—is to say that Israel cannot be allowed to defeat Hamas. The foolishness of such a policy was made clear just before Israel entered Rafah, when a Hamas “cease-fire” proposal turned out to be a charade: Among other things, it stipulated that the 33 hostages to be traded in exchange for a cease-fire would include hostages already dead. Biden’s indulgence of Hamas and pressure on Israel encourage precisely such behavior. His actions also embolden Iran and its other terror proxies. If “Never again” actually means “Never again,” then it requires supporting the world’s only Jewish state in its efforts to destroy the terrorist group that is responsible for that horrific attack so that it can never massacre Jews again.