Biden’s instinctive embrace of Israel at a moment it was under fire from the international community was the most vivid example yet of Biden’s emergence as the West Wing’s most prominent public supporter of the Jewish state. But the live question among close watchers of the Obama administration’s frustrating approach to the Middle East is whether Biden’s role is merely to feel Israel’s pain — or whether in private counsels he’s an effective advocate for a more pro-Israel policy.
As Israel and American supporters look for an ally in the White House, many say they believe Biden is pressing for a softer line on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a harder one on Hamas. Biden and his advisers have privately upheld the public administration position, they say, of opposing an American-backed peace plan, something reportedly championed by National Security Adviser James Jones.
And while administration officials insist that Biden has no foreign policy other than the president’s — “there’s not a lot of daylight” between Biden’s recent statements and Obama’s own, National Security Council chief of staff Dennis McDonough told POLITICO — pro-Israel members of Congress and pro-Israel groups see Biden as their top administration ally…
“He is far and away the go-to guy in the administration — head and shoulders above everyone else on Israel,” said a pro-Israel Congressional source. “He’s regarded as the guy who’s most sympathetic to Israel.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member