Joe Biden vows to reverse Trump administration policies in Israel if elected president
by Mica Soellner
Presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden warns there will be no peace in the Middle East if Israel doesn't stop the threat of annexation.
During a Tuesday virtual fundraiser with members of the U.S. Jewish community, Biden vowed to reverse President Trump's policies in the Israeli region and restore the hope of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
In order to achieve that goal, Biden said the United States should restore diplomatic relationships with the Palestinian Authority. If elected president, the former vice president said he would help build efforts with Palestinians to take steps toward a two-state solution if they agreed on it.
“My commitment to Israel is absolutely unshakable,” Biden said, saying he would help the Israel maintain its "qualitative military edge" while taking steps towards peace.
Earlier this year, Trump unveiled a peace plan that would give Israel sovereignty over approximately 30% of the West Bank territory and the Jordan Valley. The plan also calls for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state with a capital in east Jerusalem.
Biden said he does not support the Israeli annexation of the West Bank and called accusations of anti-Semitism, "The mother of all conspiracy theories."
"Criticism of Israel's policy is not anti-Semitism, but too often that criticism from the Left morphs into anti-Semitism," Biden said. "Arguably, we haven't heard enough about the Holocaust because people are still trying to deny its horrible reality. We have to keep talking about it. So many people forget. It’s almost hard to believe.”
Trump has established a strong relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has expressed support for Trump's plan. The president made a longtime promise vowed by past presidents to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem into reality, fully recognizing the latter as Israel's true capital. Biden has vowed to keep the embassy in Jerusalem if elected.
Biden also said he has had a good relationship with Netanyahu for decades but is disappointed that the prime minister has moved "so, so far to the Right.”
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