By all accounts, it is highly unlikely that the Biden administration will get a diplomatic breakthrough between Israel and Saudi Arabia. To put it another way, the possibility that Biden will bring about such a historic turning point is the same as the possibility that he will launch a military attack on the nuclear facilities in Iran. Both are highly improbable.
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Why does this seem to be the case? This week, while the US reprimanded Israel for "breaking promises" due to the return to Homesh, the Jewish community in the US was upset about a completely different matter. And please don't yawn, it is very relevant to us.
After many months of anticipation, President Joe Biden published the first-ever US national strategy to counter antisemitism following unprecedented waves of antisemitism in the US. The situation was recently summed up by none other than Deputy Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Antisemitism Aaron Keyak. In an interview with Israel Hayom, he said that "When I take my daughter to shul the first thing we do after I sit down and before I put on my tallit is scope out the exits in case the worst were to happen...the history of antisemitism that Jews in any country may have to leave at a moment's notice."
To Biden's credit, it should be said that he hasn't tried to simplify or gloss over the situation. The incumbent president is a Zionist, he loves Israel to his bones and has Jewish grandchildren. He therefore spoke harshly in condemning antisemitism, and as mentioned, ordered the formulation of a presidential plan to combat it. But there has been great disappointment. There is indeed a crucially important plan and message. However, the actions, in typical Biden administration fashion, are a little vague. "President Biden has invested significant attention in addressing antisemitism. This is commendable," says Kenneth Marcus, an antisemitism researcher and chairman of the Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law in the US.
According to Marcus, "Biden's strategy is impressively broad and provides a large number of programs and policies to deal with antisemitism, such as increasing support for education about Jewish heritage and the Holocaust. The emphasis on physical security for synagogues and other Jewish institutions is also welcome and, unfortunately, very necessary."
After the praise, comes the criticism. "The Biden administration also adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) definition of antisemitism but unfortunately lowered the standards of what counts as antisemitism. The most worrying thing is that the administration seems to be backing away from a long-standing commitment to issue guidelines to combat antisemitism. The Biden administration has repeatedly promised to issue Department of Education regulations that apply the executive order to combat antisemitism. The White House's failure to mention this crucial activity is deeply disappointing. So the rhetoric is very strong and the intention is good, but the essence is not always present."
Not here
Marcus, who has held human rights positions in the George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations, is not alone in criticizing the Biden administration for only going halfway. The Jewish establishment did welcome the plan launched by the White House. However, other bodies, such as Stop Antisemitism, expressed disappointment.
The forum, which has always taken a firmer line in the fight against Jew-hatred in America, was one of the first to recognize the wave we are in the midst of. It wrote that it is "extremely disturbed by several key aspects of the White House's antisemitism strategy. Our country's crisis of Jew-hatred needs to be addressed clearly, completely, and as a phenomenon unto itself, and the Biden Administration's plan falls short on all counts."
According to the forum, "Against the advice of major antisemitism advocacy organizations, the plan does not use the IHRA definition to delineate what counts as antisemitism, instead relegating it to a brief paragraph that also includes the inferior, competing Nexus definition. This flies in the face of the plan's assertion that "If we cannot name, identify, and admit a problem, we cannot begin to solve it."
And that is the heart of the matter. The Zionist-American president did not insist that anti-Zionism be considered a definition of antisemitism. This is despite the fact that dozens of countries in the world, much less close to Israel, have done so in recent years. Disappointingly, our great ally does not go all the way. Yes, Biden's America refuses to say that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, even though the IHRA definition says so.
Why is it necessary to adhere to the IHRA's definition of antisemitism as binding? There are many reasons for this. IHRA has become a global benchmark. If the US will not comply with it, who will? In addition, through this definition, the administrations of higher education institutions on campuses will have the tools to enforce disciplinary measures against those who harm Jews or supporters of Israel on campuses. When there is no binding definition, each institution will continue to adopt independent policies, meaning Israel haters will be able to carry on rampaging.
Tug of War
What Biden does and does not do on the antisemitism issue will determine his future moves regarding Saudi Arabia. In order to bring about a breakthrough between Jerusalem and Riyadh, Biden has to go all the way, turning the policy toward Mohammed bin Salman on its head from a cold disassociation to a warm embrace. This requires courage, strength, and the ability to go against the grain. The reality is he has not been acting in this way for months already.
Biden's passive approach on the issues of both antisemitism and Saudi Arabia is very reminiscent of his approach to Iran. Everything seems to indicate that Biden is not going to take action. Although he has stated hundreds of times that he will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, now on his watch Tehran is closer to the bomb than ever before.
Additionally, the US Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley made a disturbing statement in Congress that the "United States remains committed, as a matter of policy, that Iran will not have a fielded, nuclear weapon." It is okay for Iran to develop the weapons but not deploy them. This statement should set off alarm bells in Israel, and make it clear that just like on the issue of antisemitism, Biden may want to take action but cannot.
In fact, those who follow US news know that Biden never goes all the way. Regarding the war in Ukraine, the effort to stop illegal immigration to the US, or even this week when he let the Republican speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, call the shots on raising the debt ceiling. As a skilled politician, he mediates between hawkish groups and maneuvers between pressures; however, unconventional decisions have not been a hallmark of his presidency.
"On both issues (the war on antisemitism and the Iranian challenge), there is a struggle between two different camps within the administration – center-Left and far-Left," says Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in the US and a former senior official in the Trump administration.
"Those who push for the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism or a tougher stance towards Iran are pushed back by those who oppose the IHRA and support a worse deal with Iran. That is why in both cases it ends up with such a mixed policy, full of contrasts and internal contradictions," explains Goldberg.
What is clear is that someone who is not able to go all the way and stay true to their inner convictions regarding relatively simple issues such as antisemitism however committed he may be, will certainly not go all the way on monumental struggles, when the establishment opposes the decision and the political party is rebelling.
It's a shame to live in a fantasy world. There is no chance of peace with Saudi Arabia during Biden's current term. Unfortunately, regarding Iran, we do not have the luxury of waiting until January 2025.
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