An Opportunity For Israel?

Israel’s three - or four - front war isn’t helping Kamala Harris’s electoral chances.

The left’s seething anger could cost her Michigan.  The right, which doesn’t need reasons to blast the Biden administration, blames it for the chaos in the Middle East and Iran’s imminent nuclear capabilities.  The middle doesn’t like uncertainty and may turn to Trump for steadier leadership. While the Biden administration has restored America‘s leadership role in international affairs, domestically it’s seemed passive or reactive to world events.

If he can present Israel and the world with positive options, Joe Biden might still be able to alter this domestic perception.

As part of either a Rosh Hashanah observance or remembrance of the October 7 attack on Israel, Biden should give a major address to Bibi Netanyahu, world leaders, and the American public urging an immediate change in policy in Gaza in exchange for recognition by Saudi Arabia.

The address should support Israel's efforts against Hezbollah and the government of Lebanon.  It  should emphasize strengthening the unity of the alliance against Iran and its axis of evil and renew Biden’s call for a diplomatic solution to the violence in Gaza.  It'd offer Israel a way forward and put the burden of failure - and the consequence for Israel - on Netanyahu. It wouldn't preclude Israel's pursuit of the perpetrators of the October 7 massacre, but it could a demand to stop the use of American bombs on Gaza.

Most important, it would offer to jumpstart the reconstruction and relief of Gaza - perhaps in conjunction with a demand for Hamas to release the hostages and renounce its rule over the territory..

With Saudi Arabia, Biden could make public the offer of peace in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state.  He could even offer an olive branch to Iran - or the prospect of unleashing hell on the country.

A Biden address might not change the facts on the ground but it could swing opinion in Israel, Iran, and the Arab world - and most importantly, make it easier for Kamala.