Why The "Genocide Joe" Smears Hurt Palestinians And Help Trump

(Image: AP: Ahn Young-joon)

by Ben Cohen

The Biden administration and prominent Democrats are being hounded by leftwing activists over their support for Israel during its war with Hamas. Protestors of the war have labeled Biden “Genocide Joe,” inferring the president is directly responsible for Israel’s killing of civilians in the Gaza strip. As the Washington Post reports:

Early this month, protesters confronted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) at a Brooklyn theater, demanding that she call the Israel-Hamas war “a genocide.”

The next day, protesters shouting “Cease-fire now!” and “Let Gaza live!” interrupted the Senate primary victory speech of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), forcing him to cut short his ebullient remarks.

And before the annual State of the Union address, protesters wearing black shirts blaring “Biden’s legacy = genocide” and carrying oversized banners locked arms to shut down a swath of Pennsylvania Avenue — forcing President Biden’s motorcade to take an alternate route to the Capitol to avoid the demonstration.

The name calling and demands are accelerating, and Democrats are trying to figure out how to placate the growing movement while continuing to support Israel’s efforts to incapacitate Hamas. This is an almost impossible task, but one that needs to be achieved if peace is to prevail.

This piece is not about the legitimacy of the ceasefire movement. It isn’t about whether Israel’s assault on Gaza was morally justified, or whether it is being waged in an appropriate way (for the record, it’s yes on the former, and no on the latter). Instead, I want to look at the detachment the far left has from the reality of international politics, and why their actions are doing more harm than good.

The new left

In the age of extremist identity politics, the pro-Palestinian left in America have found new allies that make them a considerable political force. No longer a niche movement pushed by figures like Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein, and Chris Hedges, Palestinian liberation ideology has been coopted by identity politics extremists. The new left view Palestinians as oppressed victims of white supremacy (the white supremacists being the Jews), and thus “allies” in their war on the global white power structure. While the original pro-Palestinian left doesn’t buy into a lot of this, they have welcomed the support enthusiastically. Unfortunately, this means their cause faces a greater threat than ever before — namely the prospect of a Trump administration in 2025.

The far left has always been willing to cut off its nose to spite its face, but now it risks ruining any chance Israelis and Palestinians have of creating a peaceful solution to their decades of unrelenting warfare. By reducing the conflict to a binary good vs bad/oppressed vs oppressor narrative, the far left is making it harder for reasonable actors to do the difficult work of making any tangible progress.

To understand why this is the case, it is necessary to look at why the US is supporting Israel, and what is preventing them from stopping their catastrophic war on Gaza.

The 51st State

There has been an inherent bias towards Israel in American politics for several decades — some of it earned, some of it strategic, and some of it based on prejudice towards Arab countries. Pro-Israeli groups in the US have also worked diligently to bolster US/Israeli relations ensuring both nations work closely together on issues of national security, intelligence sharing, and trade. As a result, Israel is effectively America’s ‘eyes and ears’ in the Middle East, and has often been described as America’s ‘51st state’. The Palestinians have suffered immensely because of this, their cause being of little strategic importance to the US.

There is much to criticize about the relationship between America and Israel, and many Jewish organizations in America are working to make it a healthier one. I have spoken to people within those organizations over the years, and they acknowledge that far right pro-Israel groups have too much influence in American politics. This doesn’t mean there is a conspiracy though, and this is where far left groups fall prey to good old fashioned antisemitism.

Israel is not the only bad actor

While Israel is portrayed as an evil apartheid state oppressing the Palestinians (a characterization that merits an entirely different article), the far left does not want to acknowledge the bad actors on the other side. The ceasefire activists do not seem to acknowledge extremist Islamic terrorists (like Hamas), corrupt Palestinian leadership, and virulent antisemitism in the region.

Palestinians have walked away from serious peace proposals, refused to stop acts of terror, and elected a government in Gaza dedicated to wiping out all Jews in the region. The far left’s narrative that this can all be blamed on Israel and the US is a form of extreme infantilization. Just as Israel is responsible for its crimes against Palestinians, Palestinians are responsible for its crimes against Israel. There is certainly a power imbalance, but that doesn’t mean Palestinians have free reign to kill as many Israelis as they can — as Hamas did on October 7th.

When left wing activists calling for Israel to declare a ceasefire notably aren’t calling for Hamas to declare a ceasefire. This double standard and inability to see bad actors on both sides means the conflict can never be resolved. Screaming at Alexandria Ocasio Cortez to label Israel’s assault on Gaza a “genocide” doesn’t stop Israel’s assault on Gaza. Calling President Biden “Genocide Joe” won’t stop the US supporting Israel. It simply reduces the conflict to a meaningless slogan that further entrenches each side.

The difficulty of power politics

President Biden is well aware of the plight of Palestinians, and contrary to far left screeching, he is sympathetic to their cause. But as a seasoned political operator he knows that declaring Israel a pariah state, cutting military aid and labeling their assault on Gaza a genocide would have disastrous implications for the region. Much of this has to do with the complex relationship Benjamin Netanyahu has with American politicians, and the threat he poses to Democrats.

Biden has spent decades dealing with Benjamin Netanyahu and knows full well how he would manipulate it to his advantage. Netanyahu is a deeply unscrupulous and malevolent operator who knows American politics inside and out. More than anything, Bibi understands the culture wars in America, and how vulnerable Democrats are to right wing smears. He spent years antagonizing President Obama by ignoring his efforts to stop settlement expansion, meddling in America’s talks with Iran, refusing to engage in meaningful peace talks with Palestinians, and taking invites from Republicans to speak in front of Congress. Netanyahu was acutely aware that many Americans viewed Obama as a Muslim and exploited it mercilessly.

Netanyahu’s position in Israel is far more precarious than it has ever been, but Israel is at war, and Netanyahu is still a draw with right wing audiences in America. In response to Chuck Schumer’s recent calls for new elections in Israel, Netanyahu is going on the offensive, addressing Senate Republicans virtually this week, and awaiting an invitation from House Republicans to address Congress. Republicans would like nothing more than another strongman figure telling America how weak Democratic leadership, so the probability of it happening is high. The main threat of course, is a Bibi friendly Trump administration in 2025 — a prospect that would spell the end of any Palestinian dreams of statehood.

Times are changing

The Biden administration’s seismic decision to marginalize Netanyahu via proxy (Chuck Schumer) is a testament to how seriously they are committed to a peaceful solution. It is also a testament to how complex and careful the maneuvering has to be. If the timing or the optics are wrong, Netanyahu can turn events to his advantage. Bibi is a master of survival and Biden is using his experience to make sure no mistakes are made.

The Biden administration is currently drawing up options on officially recognizing a Palestinian state — another seismic change that Israel’s hard right government will vehemently oppose. Of course Biden has to win in November for this to happen, because under a Trump government the Palestinians will get nothing.

The far left does not want to acknowledge any of this and are instead committed to vilifying Biden and making demands that have no chance of happening. Just as hardcore Bernie Sanders supporters helped throw the 2016 election to Trump, the ceasefire left is threatening to do the same in 2024.

I am not suggesting that Israel or the Biden administration should be immune from criticism. Israel’s recent actions have been disastrous, and the Biden administration has given them too much latitude. While far left activists often mean well in protesting Israeli actions against Palestinians, their overly simplified rhetoric and demands ultimately do more harm than good. This conflict is enormously complex and will require nuanced diplomacy, pragmatic realpolitik, and an acknowledgment of wrongs committed by both sides. Reducing it to slogans like "Genocide Joe" or calling Israel an apartheid state may play well with activists, but it pushes a resolution further away. It is possible to criticize Israel's overreach while still engaging with its security realities, just as it is possible to sympathize with Palestinians while criticizing Hamas.

There is always a path to peace, but when the fringes begin to dominate, the path becomes that much longer.

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