Is Biden Sensitive to Growing US Criticism of Israel?

GROWING AMERICAN CRITICISM OF ISRAEL… The new round of combat between Israel and the Palestinians has entered its second week. It does not seem over for the time being. The bombings (by the Israeli army on the densely populated Gaza Strip) and rocket fire (by Hamas on cities in Israel) have already killed more than 200 people, mainly on the Palestinian side. As Israel's most important ally, can and will the United States should not or cannot enforce a ceasefire.
 
I once looked back at the role the Obama administration played in the Gaza wars of 2012 and '14. Washington's statements at the time can be briefly summarized as Israel has the "right to self-defense" but should exercise restraint and spare innocent civilians as much as possible. In practice, this meant that the Netanyahu administration could handle the conflict as it pleased. Hamas was severely hit but not defeated. Gaza remained the large open-air prison it has been for years.
 
Seven years after the last war, a new round has now broken out, with another Democrat in the White House. Joe Biden has a much less warm relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu than his predecessor Donald Trump, who gave Israel carte blanche for four years. And earlier this month, Biden's support for the release of corona vaccine patents showed that he could unexpectedly embrace radical ideas. But in the Middle East, he seems to fall back on the old American line: Israel is allowed to defend itself, as long as the numbers of civilian casualties are somewhat limited. On Monday, after a phone call with Netanyahu, Biden openly pushed for a truce for the first time but avoided the word "immediately."
 
The latter is striking because it is called for within his party. Criticism of the Israeli offensive does not come from usual suspects like The Squad in the House (including Palestinian-American representative Rashida Tlaib) or left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders (who pointed out in an opinion piece the US should not be allowed military aid to a country that violates human rights). Twenty-eight of the fifty Democratic senators also called for an immediate ceasefire on Sunday. On MSNBC, the home channel of progressive America, the tone about Israel is also hardening.

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IS BIDEN SENSITIVE TO THIS? Seen in this way, a turnaround in American politics and public opinion is undoubtedly taking place. But is it also strong enough to expect a different course from Biden than under Obama? At the end of 2016, so only in its twilight years, he dared to pass a strict Security Council resolution on Israeli settlements by not vetoing them. Tonight, there is another meeting of the V Council on Israel, but few expect a similar American abstention. More likely, Biden wants to give some more time behind-the-scenes diplomatic action.
 
A long-term opinion poll by Gallup shows that in recent years Americans are slightly less sympathetic to Israel (still 58 percent support) and somewhat more positive towards Palestinians (now 25 percent support). But the same poll shows something else: fewer and fewer Americans still consider the situation in the Middle East to be "critical" for their country itself. At most, it is "important."
 
The US has more significant global challenges (China, Russia, climate) and is now pumping up its energy. Americans are seeing more of a cyber-attack on a pipeline at the gas station these days than mounting tension in the Middle East.
 
It is precisely the fact that Israel-Palestine is no longer a critical geopolitical issue that Biden can give the space to not burn his fingers too much for the time being.