UN Vote Unlikely to Signal Change in US Policy Towards Israel

The Biden administration signaled passivity, but not support towards a proposed ceasefire in Gaza during a vote on the matter at the United Nations on Monday. The move made headlines as the United States’ abstention marked a shift from the country’s previous three vetoes of similar Security Council resolutions.

But analyst Mark Sleboda warns of reading too far into the incident, claiming the current rift in US-Israel relations is more of a matter of animosity between the countries’ leaders than a genuine change in their military relationship.

“As to [Israeli President] Benjamin Netanyahu, Bibi and Biden, this is a broken bromance,” said the researcher and international relations expert on Sputnik’s Political Misfits program on Monday. “I don't know if it was ever a bromance, actually, between the two, but all the indications are that this is not indicative of some larger change in US foreign policy considering the influence of AIPAC in the US and the longstanding US security relationship with Israel. That would actually be very momentous if it was true.”

“Everything we've heard in the Western press is that Biden personally has problems with Netanyahu,” added Sleboda. “It seems [to be] not so much what he's doing, but the way he's going about it and his complete lack of political damage control which is making Joe Biden's life and his reelection more difficult.”

The analyst said a halt in US lethal aid flowing to Israel would be evidence of a genuine shift in relations between the two longtime allies. The death toll in Gaza currently stands at over 32,000, with the majority of casualties thought to be of Palestinian civilians. Israel has been engaged in an assault on the enclave since early October.

Biden’s antipathy toward Netanyahu likely extends back to the administration of former US President Barack Obama, when Biden served as vice president. Netanyahu opposed Obama’s attempts to pursue diplomacy with Iran, preferring military confrontation with the country of 88 million. Netanyahu’s attempts to undermine Obama extended as far as giving a televised address to a session of the US Congress blasting the US president’s policy.

Despite the open hostility, Obama still provided Netanyahu with Israel’s largest military aid package in history before leaving office.

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Whatever rift existed between the current US president and Netanyahu seemed to have briefly healed as a sobbing Biden embraced the Israeli Prime Minister in Tel Aviv in the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 uprising. But Netanyahu has repeatedly embarrassed Biden in recent months with his blatant defiance of US calls for restraint.

“We've already seen other potential Israeli politicians inside the unity government doing a tour of London and Washington,” noted Sleboda, “positioning themselves, it seems to me, to be the next prime minister of Israel with the US’ support.” Observers have speculated Biden may prefer a more outwardly moderate figure like opposition leader Benny Gantz.

Sleboda stated the primary concern for Biden currently is that Israel will undertake a violent incursion into Rafah, where over 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering. Besides generating public opposition, such a move would likely also damage the United States’ relationship with Egypt if Palestinians are forced to seek refuge in the Sinai Desert.

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Egypt has been one of the largest recipients of US foreign aid dating back to the late 1970s, when US President Jimmy Carry oversaw the signing of the Camp David Accords which guaranteed Egyptian backing of Israel. The United States has stifled Egyption democracy in the decades since, supporting a coup against elected President Mohamed Morsi to ensure a pro-Israel leader holds power in the country.

US support for Israel has apparently done little to generate gratitude among average Israelis. A 2009 video filmed by journalist Max Blumenthal demonstrated widespread racist attitudes among the Israeli public, with Israelis calling then US President Obama the N-word among other racial slurs.

The video was taken down by YouTube, Vimeo, and other online platforms amidst opposition from Zionist groups, who opposed drawing attention to the pervasive bigotry within Israeli society.