Crisis on All Fronts

One day after Purim, with the ink barely dry on last week’s issue: v’nahafoch hu. The Biden administration let through a UN Security Council resolution demanding a cease-fire.

In the twilight of Obama’s second term in 2016, he withheld America’s veto on an anti-Israel Security Council resolution, less than a month before president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Biden, by contrast, made his dramatic decision six months before the end of his first term, at a time when Israel needs American support more than ever.

Amid the outcry, I circled back to Gilad Erdan this week. Despite his role as an ambassador, Erdan didn’t turn us away with diplomatic evasions. He was willing to directly answer the question of “mah nishtanah.” How is it that within a day of our conversation, America’s support morphed into an anti-Israel resolution?

Let’s start from the end. Do you feel that the United States has betrayed us?

“I’m deeply disappointed by the Security Council resolution, which negatively impacts both our war effort and the chances of getting the hostages back. But I don’t speak that way about an administration that has supported us all this time — and even now, President Biden still says he’s committed to Israel’s victory over Hamas.