Zionism, Anti-Semitism and Biden’s crocodile tears

US Vice President Joe Biden has stated that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government is losing international support due to its “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza. It would be naive to believe that this will prevent the Israeli government from carrying out its inexorable campaign against the Palestinian people. Especially because Biden approved the emergency sale of tank shells to Israel on the same day that the US refused to extend the ceasefire in Gaza at the UN Security Council and the US House of Representatives declared that criticising Zionism is anti-Semitism.

Zionism is an ideology, whereas Judaism is a belief system. It is neither anti-Semitism to criticise Zionism, nor is it anti-Semitism to criticise the Israeli government’s attitude, which creates a reaction in the conscience of Western peoples, if not Western governments.

After Liz Magill, the Rector of the University of Pennsylvania, was interrogated before Congress on December 5 and then forced to retire, the December 6 decision can be seen as a portent of a resurgent McCarthyism in the United States. Previously, movie stars such as Susan Sarandon and Melissa Barrera were blacklisted from Hollywood for criticising the massacre of Palestinian people; Penelope Cruz is following in their footsteps.

Fascism and Zionism

The fact that the Harvard administration has thus far supported Rector Claudine Gay, who was forced to retire for the same reason, demonstrates that the limitations of free expression and academic autonomy in the United States have restricted to criticism of Israel and Zionism.

“Fascism does not forbid speech; it compels it,” French writer Roland Barthes famously stated, alluding to how authoritarian organisations drive people to repeat what they say. However, in the United States today, we observe that individuals not only repeat what political and economic power holders say, but they also cannot tolerate any statement that contradicts them. This is a disaster for human rights defenders in Turkey and around the world.

Biden’s claim that Israel is “losing support” is long overdue and stands in stark contrast to the US’s lukewarm political and military support for Netanyahu, so we may call them crocodile tears.

Netanyahu and his followers have two flaws that allow them to easily influence Western administrations. The first is the Holocaust guilt complex, which refers to Nazi Germany’s genocide practices against European Jews. The second is novel: labelling criticism of Israel or Zionism as anti-Semitic.

Biden is a “good friend”

In fact, we can see that Netayahyahu is unconcerned about Biden. According to the phone talks, he disagreed with Biden on the maintenance of the Palestinian presence in Gaza and stated that he would not agree to a peace accord with the Palestinians similar to Oslo 1993. During the phone discussions, Netanyahu allegedly “scolded” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, the picture becomes apparent when we consider Biden’s statement that “Israel is losing support.”

Off camera, Biden said these statements at a fundraising meeting organised by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), one of the umbrella organisations of Jewish organisations in the United States and the most influential element of the Israel lobby, as 2024 is an election year in the United States. President Tayyip Erdoan met with AIPAC officials in September in New York.

At the meeting, Biden also stated, “[Netanyahu] is a good friend, but he needs to change.” His movements are hampered by the Israeli authorities.” He also supplied the address for change: Things would be easier if National Security Minister Ben Gvir left.

Everywhere, without exception, we are descending into a new level of hypocrisy.