This Is the Story of How the Democrats Blew It on Gaza - Ben Rhodes

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By Ben Rhodes

Mr. Rhodes is a contributing Opinion writer. He was a deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/opinion/democrats-israel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7E8.xA3B.S4NEju6LRINu&smid=url-share

"Less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, President Joe Biden traveled to Israel and held Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an embrace. The image captured the solidarity Americans felt with Israelis after they suffered such horrific violence. It also symbolized a political and governing reflex within the Democratic Party.

During the Biden presidency, it was short-handed the “hug Bibi” strategy — the idea that smothering Mr. Netanyahu with unconditional support would give the U.S. leverage to influence his actions. Over the final 15 months of the Biden presidency, this approach led the White House to provide a flood of weapons for Israel’s bombardment of Palestinians, veto United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for a cease-fire, attack the International Criminal Court for pursuing charges against Mr. Netanyahu, ignore its own policies about supporting military units credibly accused of war crimes and blame Hamas for not accepting cease-fire terms that the Israeli government was also rejecting.

This approach made Democrats hypocrites when defending a “rules-based order,” racial equality and democracy. It alienated elements of their base and placed them out of step with younger voters. And in an age of authoritarianism, fealty to an Israeli strongman who routinely humiliated them made Democrats appear weak: Mr. Netanyahu was hugged all the way into the arms of Donald Trump.

Today, with a tenuous cease-fire, it may be tempting for the party to memory hole what has happened in Gaza. After all, Democrats just won some resounding electoral victories focused on affordability, and there is no easy consensus on the Middle East. Yet this would compound the mistake of ignoring, or rationalizing, an intolerable reality....."