One of the strongest ovations Democrats gave President Joe Biden in last night’s State of the Union address came when he declared that Israel “has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza.” He used his harshest language yet about the war, calling the toll of death, destruction and displacement “heartbreaking.”
The speech came two days after a surprisingly strong protest vote over Biden’s support of Israel’s war against Hamas in Super Tuesday primaries. Pro-Palestinian advocates blocked his planned route to the Capitol and projected “Biden’s Legacy is Genocide” onto a building; inside the House chamber, Reps. Summer Lee, Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush wore kaffiyehs, the signature Palestinian solidarity scarf, and held signs that read, “Stop Sending Bombs” and “Lasting Ceasefire Now.”
Some lawmakers also wore stickers saying “153,” the number of days the hostages, some 130 of them, have been held in captivity by Hamas.
Addressing the war late in his 100-minute speech, Biden said he’d been “working nonstop to establish an immediate ceasefire” and, as announced earlier in the day Tuesday, that the U.S. military would establish a temporary pier off Gaza’s coastline to “enable a massive increase” in aid “every day.”
“Israel must do its part,” he declared. “To the leadership of Israel I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.”
Biden checked his pro-Israel boxes by calling Hamas a terrorist group, being clear that the Oct. 7 terror attack sparked the war and included sexual violence and was the “deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” and noting that he is the only American president to visit Israel during wartime. He used the phrase “over time” regarding a two-state solution, and said Middle East stability depends on “containing the threat posed by Iran.”
But he also tried to appease the growing number of Democrats displeased by his unbridled backing of the war.
“More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not Hamas,” he said, citing figures that many in Israel dispute. “Girls and boys also orphaned. Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displacement. Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. Families without food, water, medicine. It’s heartbreaking.”
Read JTA’s story about the speech >
ICYMI: A number of family members of hostages still in Gaza attended the address. Among them were Yael and Adi Alexander, parents of Edan Alexander, 20.
ICYMI, Part 2: A more unexpected guest was former Rep. George Santos, who announced a new run for Congress. In an interview with our senior political reporter Jacob Kornbluh after his expulsion from the House, Santos aired grievances about “everything I have been through.”
