U.S. president makes rare public criticism of The Squad and other anti-Israel Democrats, pushing back on claims that Israel is an “apartheid state.”
By World Israel News Staff
President Joe Biden pushed back against anti-Israel Democratic lawmakers who accused the Jewish state of apartheid, telling Israeli media that Israel’s critics on the far-left are “wrong.”
Speaking with Israel’s Channel 12 Wednesday during his trip to Israel, Biden downplayed the influence of the quartet of radical Democratic congresswomen dubbed “The Squad” and rejected their demands that the U.S. end its military aid to Israel.
When asked by interviewer Yonit Levi what he thought of the “voices in the Democratic Party” who “say that Israel is an apartheid state, calling for an end of unconditional aid,” Biden dismissed those attacks on Israel from within his own party.
“There are a few of them,” the president said. “I think they are wrong. I think they are making a mistake. Israel is a democracy. Israel is our ally. Israel is a friend.”
Biden defended his administration’s continued support for the long-standing American policy of providing military aid to Israel and cooperating with the Israeli military, citing the passage of a spending bill that included supplemental spending for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense network, above and beyond the $4 billion in annual defense aid.
“I think that I make no apologies. We’ve provided for — my administration, $4 billion plus the billion for Iron Dome. And we’re working on a laser project to be able to replace Iron Dome. It’s overwhelmingly in our interest that Israel be stable.”
When asked whether he believes the hostility towards Israel among the party’s radical members could spread to the mainstream of the Democratic Party, Biden said he believes both parties will remain committed to supporting the Jewish state.
“No, there’s no possibility, I think, of a Democratic Party or even a significant portion of the Republican Party walking away from Israel.”
This past May, one member of The Squad, Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, attended a ‘Nakba Day’ rally in Dearborn, decrying Israel as an apartheid state.
Last month, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined Tlaib in attempting to block efforts to bring Israel into the U.S. visa waiver program.
In September 2021, progressive lawmakers succeeded in forcing House leaders to temporarily remove funding for Israel’s Iron Dome system from the massive omnibus spending plan.