Washington awoke yesterday morning to the shocking news of a murderous Hamas invasion of Israel. This war has already exacted a devastating cost, killing hundreds of innocent Israelis and Palestinians, with the death toll expected to climb even higher. No matter how you feel about the Middle East, this is a time for strong bipartisan American unity in the face of terror.
This is a time for strong bipartisan American unity in the face of terror.
Republicans seem to disagree.
Instead of uniting behind our president, as Democrats did when President George W. Bush was faced with the horrors of 9/11, many in the GOP immediately attempted to use this bloodshed to score political points.
Take Ronna McDaniel, the head of the Republican National Committee. While Israelis were still being murdered by Hamas, she went on Fox News to proclaim that she viewed this disaster as a “great opportunity” to attack Biden. Deplorable.
McDaniel: I think this is a great opportunity for our candidates to… pic.twitter.com/y739WmV2sY
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 7, 2023
This mindset is not simply morally dubious. Israel needs the support — politically, but also materially — of a strong United States right now. A country divided, and a government in the throes of hyper-partisan chaos, is not an effective ally. But Republicans, for all their talk, appear OK with that, just as long as they get to call Biden weak on cable news.
Standing together is how we lead, in peace but especially in times of war.
The GOP presidential candidates have been some of the worst offenders this weekend. Despite polling numbers that project a runaway Donald Trump primary win in 2024, several alleged contenders have jumped at the chance to regurgitate misinformation and divisive rhetoric. Vivek Ramaswamy, who spent the first GOP debate vying for the honor of most obnoxious candidate, went on social media to claim, inaccurately, that the $6 billion in released Iranian funds used to bring American hostages home was directly funding Hamas. This is impossible — because these funds haven’t been spent yet. As part of the deal, the money isn’t even being sent directly to Iran, but instead to our third-party ally Qatar to be disbursed solely for humanitarian supplies. But why be accurate when you can smear your commander-in-chief?
I spoke with @amirohana about the attack in Israel. Hamas pre-planned these atrocities, including the kidnapping & killing of children, & they must have done it with Iran’s support.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) October 7, 2023
This is like Israel’s Pearl Harbor. President Biden’s appeasement has emboldened our enemies. pic.twitter.com/sbIFp0HgRE
And then there’s Kevin McCarthy, who spent Saturday reminding America why Democrats helped oust him from the speakership last week. McCarthy went on TV and made the bizarre claim that “President Biden’s appeasement has emboldened our enemies.” Does the former speaker, and perhaps soon-to-be former congressman, actually think that Hamas — a terrorist organization that was founded over three decades ago — attacked Israel because of Joe Biden? This is opportunistic self-loathing at its absolute worst.
But such ludicrous, harmful rhetoric was everywhere yesterday, from lawmakers and so-called experts who surely know better. The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies’ Jonathan Schanzer was similarly obtuse, claiming America’s “hostage diplomacy… gave a green light to Iran.” This statement is beyond callous. It’s almost as if Schanzer forgot that Israeli P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu himself traded 1,027 Palestinians to Hamas for one single Israeli — Gilad Shalit — back in 2011. But who cares about facts. Anyway, it must be Biden’s fault.
Israeli politics is just as contentious, if not more so, than our American system. And yet, Israel’s opposition leaders right now — Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid — were willing to set aside their political grievances with Netanyahu (and there are many) to join his government in a show of solidarity for the sake of all of Israel.
Some politicians understand that the safety and security of their nation comes before all other priorities. Today’s Republican Party clearly does not.
Joel Rubin
Joel Rubin is a former deputy assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs. He's running as a Democrat in Maryland's 6th congressional district.