New York - The Republican Jewish Coalition condemned President Joe Biden’s executive order in a statement Thursday calling it about “cold, calculated politics.”
“Joe Biden and his team are watching his poll numbers crater. Today he traveled to the key battleground state of Michigan, home of the largest Arab-American population in the United States, desperate for some sort of political ‘win’ with his fervently anti-Israel base in the Democratic Party,” according to the statement. “It’s a disgrace.”
The statement said Biden has to know that this statement will be taken by many as suggesting a moral equivalence between Hamas terrorists and a “small number of Israelis whose reported actions are investigated and prosecuted where appropriate by the authorities.”
The RJC said it stands unequivocally against criminal violence and that there is no moral equivalence between terrorists and Israeli settlers.
The RJC criticized the message of the order and its timing.
“Joe Biden has needlessly damaged the US-Israel alliance yet again,” RJC said. “Congress and the American people must make it clear that the Biden administration is dangerously off course regarding Israel.”
Democratic Jewish reaction
Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), said the Biden White House could not be more supportive of Israel and its efforts to bring about regional security.
“One element of this policy has been staunchly supporting Israel’s actions against Hamas, which the US Treasury has sanctioned five times since October 7,” Soifer said. “Another element is sanctioning Israeli extremists who perpetrate violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, undermining prospects for security and peace.”
President Biden stands with innocent Israelis and Palestinians, and Jewish Americans stand with President Biden, Soifer said.