Joe Biden is the 46th president of the United States of America. Biden is a member of the Democrat party, and is a career politician. He served as former US president Barack Obama’s vice-president. He had previously been a candidate for the 1988 Democratic presidential candidate. Biden served as a member of the Senate from 1972 until 2008, when he became vice-president. Kamala Harris serves as his vice-president.
Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to a Catholic family. As a law student, he married Neilia Hunter in 1966. A few weeks after Biden was elected to Senate, his wife and one-year old daughter were killed in a tragic automobile accident. He married Jill Tracy Jacobs in 1977, and had one daughter with her, Ashley Blazer. Biden had two sons, Joseph “Beau” and Hunter, with Neilia. Beau died in 2015 from brain cancer. His son Hunter has been embroiled in a number of financial and behavioral scandals that have served as a black mark on the Biden Administration.
There have been several policies of note during his term as president. Biden oversaw the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the consequential return of the Taliban. His administration also oversaw the Post-Trump Coronavirus pandemic response and economic recovery.
The Biden administration is committed to the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Biden is supportive of Israel’s right to exist, but his administration clashed with the Bennett government on several policy issues. Biden has pressured Israel to commit freezing any building over the Green Line. His administration has been critical of the decision by the Israeli government to label six NGOs as PFLP terrorist affiliates. The Biden administration promised the Palestinian Authority that it would open a consulate in Jerusalem, which has raised the ire of Israeli leaders across the political spectrum. In comparison to the Trump and Obama administrations, Biden has taken a very moderate and hands-off approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Readers of The Jerusalem Post have their say.
US-Israel tensions escalate amid political turmoil. Will Netanyahu survive? Insightful analysis reveals complex dynamics.
The contrast between what Biden said then and his reaction to Schumer’s speech is glaring.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urges Israel to refrain from military operation in Rafah amid increasing aid shipments and what he called Palestinian "suffering."
Trump called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza quickly, saying, "Do it [end the war] quickly, and return to a world of peace."
Trump claimed that if he did not win this year’s presidential election, “I don’t think you’re going to have another election, or certainly not an election that’s meaningful.”
The president added that Schumer had contacted his senior staff to let them know he planned to deliver the speech.
US President Biden backs Schumer's bold call for Netanyahu's replacement, sparking controversy and praise. A pivotal moment in US-Israel relations unfolds.
He recently released his fourth book, L’da’ati (In My Opinion), a compilation of Hebrew articles and papers on diplomacy and foreign policy issues he has written over this long career.