On Balance | On Israel-Hamas conflict, are US Republicans ready to stand with China?

Instead of standing alongside Biden to denounce Hamas’ attack on Israel, Republicans are engaged in a civil war that has paralysed the US House

With Beijing likely to refrain from condemning Hamas, the Republican Party may find itself aligned with China, a country it demonises at every turn

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A man walks through the Capitol rotunda in Washington on October 15. House Republicans continue their work to elect a House Speaker to replace Kevin McCarthy who was removed in a historic vote forced by hard-right conservatives. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:30pm, 16 Oct 2023

America’s Democratic presidents have never had an easy relationship with Israel. It was only months ago that US President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he “cannot continue down this road” of overhauling Israel’s judiciary in a way that weakens its power to overrule government decisions.

The relationship was already damaged by Netanyahu’s acceptance in 2015 of an invitation by Republicans to address Congress about the Iran nuclear issue, completely bypassing Barack Obama’s White House, in which Biden was vice-president.

That breach of diplomatic protocol happened when Republicans could still be relied upon to support any hardline decision by the Israeli leadership and beat down any Democrat who didn’t.

In the wake of Hamas’ attack against Israel, we’re still sorting through details that are difficult to fathom. It was a massacre of Biblical fury, not an act of self-defence.

As the nature of the attack became clear, Netanyahu’s judicial reforms vanished as an issue of concern for Biden, at least for the time being. The United States president has declared allegiance with Israel in terms as bold and clear as Ronald Reagan’s famous 1987 speech at Brandenburg Gate demanding that Moscow tear down the Berlin Wall.

While Biden has shaken off the legitimate grievances he had against Netanyahu, we see no unity on the issue from the Republican Party: formerly a global force for good when it came to facing down terrorists and authoritarians, the party has been extensively re-engineered by some twisted ideological retrovirus.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}On Balance | On Israel-Hamas conflict, are US Republicans ready to stand with China?

On Balance | On Israel-Hamas conflict, are US Republicans ready to stand with China?