From the beginning of the latest Arab-Israeli war, to his credit, Joe Biden has mostly been saying the right things in his public statements. He has declared that the United States is standing by our ally Israel and that we will provide them with whatever they need to emerge victorious. But we’ve also seen reports indicating that he has privately been cautioning Netanyahu against “going too far” or exacerbating potential collateral damage to Palestinian civilians. (Assuming any of them actually are truly uninvolved.) But on his trip back from Israel last night, Joe Biden appeared close to saying the quiet part out loud. While expressing empathy with Israelis in terms of how they must feel about being attacked in this fashion, he urged them to not be “consumed by rage.” He compared their situation to that of the United States after 9/11 and said that while we sought justice, “we also made mistakes.” Talk about a mixed message. (Associated Press)

President Joe Biden swept into wartime Israel for a 7 1/2-hour visit Wednesday that produced a heaping dose of vocal support, a deal to get limited humanitarian aid into Gaza from Egypt, likely by the end of the week, and a plea for Israelis not to allow rage over the deadly Hamas attack to consume them.

“I understand. Many Americans understand,” Biden said as he wrapped up his stay in Tel Aviv, likening the Oct. 7 Hamas assault to the attacks against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people. “You can’t look at what has happened here … and not scream out for justice,” he said.

“But I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it,” he said. “After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.”

I’ve been concerned that this might happen from the beginning. Biden isn’t coming out directly and joining the throngs of people blaming Israel and accusing them of war crimes if they go into Gaza to destroy Hamas, but he’s clearly tiptoeing up to the line. He urged Israel to “step back from the brink” during his comments. How are they supposed to interpret that other than as a suggestion that they stay out of Gaza?

There’s a significant difference between being outraged and being “consumed” by rage. The latter implies that you may be behaving in a reckless and unwise fashion because you have been blinded by your emotions. But under extreme circumstances, outrage is clearly justified. The people of Israel are and should be outraged at what Hamas did. So should we. So should every decent human being on the planet.

Benjamin Netanyahu has clearly not been blinded by rage. In fact, he’s show far more restraint than I expected and more than some analysts have thought was required. He could have launched a massive ground invasion of Gaza the day after the initial attacks, but he chose not to do that. He mopped up the remaining terrorists in his own country first while gathering intelligence for the anticipated move over the border. He gave days of fair warning to the Palestinians so they could try to evacuate the northern part of the Strip and avoid being killed. He even authorized the resumption of power, water, and critical supplies into the southern part of Gaza. He didn’t have to do any of that.

Bibi Netanyahu had demonstrated all of the restraint required and more. But he still has a job to do. Mistakes may still be made, just as we made mistakes in response to 9/11. (Invading Iraq and Joe’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan come to mind.) But abandoning the effort to destroy Hamas and prevent further attacks like the last one would be tantamount to surrender. If Hamas still exists next summer and can continue to rain rockets down on Israel, then the terrorists will have won. It’s a tricky situation and nobody wants to see this escalate into a regional war, but surrender is simply not an option for Israel if they want to world to recognize their right to exist.

It’s also worth noting that Joe Biden was full of praise on his way back home. That would be praise for himself. He told reporters, “I came to get something done. I got it done.” He went on to say, “Not many people thought I could get this done. And not many people wanted me to be associated with failure.”

Oh, really? What did you actually “get done” on this trip, Mr. President? The Arab parties involved cancelled their meeting with you in an insulting fashion. Egypt’s leader totally discounted all of your requests and suggestions. And the only thing you accomplished with Netanyahu was getting him to agree to send some aid to southern Gaza, which he was likely already looking at doing anyway. This trip was little more than a risky photo op when all was said and done, and the situation you left behind is still a dangerous mess that could escalate drastically any day now. Try not to strain your arm patting yourself on the back, Joe.