Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Thursday issued a statement in which they criticized US President Joe Biden, after he warned that he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
“We are deeply disappointed and dismayed by President Biden’s counterproductive remarks regarding the potential cessation of congressionally mandated aid to our ally Israel. Congress recently approved this aid with a bipartisan supermajority, which should signal to the Biden Administration that support for Israel in her existential war remains strong,” said, Harriet P. Schleifer, Chair, and William C. Daroff, CEO, of the Conference of Presidents in a statement.
“It is contrary to the American national interest to deny Israel the munitions and support needed to remove Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip permanently. Withholding security assistance and support from Israel would send a dangerous message to Iran and all its regional proxies and would undermine the confidence our allies place in commitments by the United States,” they added.
“History demonstrates that the United States and Israel are both more secure when there is no daylight visible between the two countries. Public rebuke and criticism of Israel serves to fuel domestic antisemitism as well and will likely invigorate the divisive, vitriolic rhetoric we see on many college campuses today,” said Schleifer and Daroff.
“These developments are of profound concern to the American Jewish community for whom the safety and security of Israel is of the utmost importance. We urge President Biden to remain steadfast in his support of the Jewish state.”
“The United States must stand with Israel and should commit to providing the support necessary to end the threat to international security posed by the Hamas terror army,” they concluded.
Biden’s comments, made in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, were criticized not only in the Republican Party but also within Biden’s Democratic Party.
In addition, Israeli-American billionaire and Democratic megadonor Haim Saban on Thursday sent a personal letter to Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, in which he protested the decision to stop arms shipments to Israel.
Saban called the move to freeze the weapons shipments a "bad, bad, bad decision on all levels and called on Biden to reconsider.