Newly-confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, who backed many of Barack Obama’s anti-Israel policies, offered conditional support to the Israeli war effort against Hamas terrorists Sunday, saying it should be conducted “in a manner that reflects the values that we share.”
Lew presented his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog after he arrived Friday to fill the vacancy left by former Ambassador Thomas Nides, as the Biden administration pressures Israel for a so-called “humanitarian pause.”
As Breitbart News noted in September:
Lew, a highly partisan official infamous for his inability to say “yes” to Republicans during budget negotiations, also defended Obama’s attempt to create distance with Israel, and his disastrous, one-sided nuclear deal with Iran. That deal allowed Iran to emerge as a nuclear power after roughly a decade. Moreover, Lew criticized then-President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem — a decision that led to the Abraham Accords.
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Lew has also been critical of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who frustrated Obama’s policies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of a “pause” on Friday, saying that he would only consider it if Hamas released the more than 240 hostages it took during the October 7 terror attack on Israel. The Biden administration has said a “pause” would allow humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip, but aid trucks are already entering southern Gaza from Egypt.
Biden has also said a “pause” is needed to allow for the release of hostages, but Hamas has shown little interest in a hostage release except in exchange for the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israel, including those who carried out the Oct. 7 attack.
At the credential presentation, both Lew and Herzog presented an image of close cooperation. President Herzog said:
I’m speaking for all Israelis when I say: never has American friendship been more evident or more valued than it is right now. We are grateful to President Joe Biden for his unwavering support of Israel and its people. We value the immense efforts and repeated visits by Secretary Blinken and high-level officials. We are grateful for everything that the USA has done for us and is doing as we speak. We will never forget it.
While calling the bond between the U.S. and Israel “unshakeable,” Lew’s statement of support contained an implicit condition: “As President Biden has said so passionately, Israel has a right and indeed a responsibility to defend this nation and its people in a manner that reflects the values that we share” (emphasis added).
It is not clear what that “manner” means. The Biden administration has repeatedly claimed that it is pushing Israel to wage war in conformity with international law, a claim that implies Israel would somehow do otherwise. Legal observers have noted that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is one of the best in the world at maintaining human rights standards in war and protecting civilians.
On Sunday, the IDF presented evidence that Hamas is placing rocket launchers in civilian areas — even children’s playgrounds — and that it has dug tunnels and launched rockets near hospitals, placing Palestinian civilian lives in danger. The IDF also reiterated that it has repeatedly warned Palestinian civilians to leave northern Gaza and that it has tried to establish evacuation corridors for them to do so — despite the fact that Hamas terrorists have attacked the humanitarian corridors.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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