Joe Biden calls for renewed support for Israel and Ukraine in prime-time Oval Office speech: “American leadership holds the world together”

Joe Biden has called for a massive new aid package for Israel and Ukraine, linking the wars in both countries to US security while condemning the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the US.

“American leadership holds the world together,” Biden said. “American alliances protect us, America. American values ​​make us a partner that other countries want to work with. To risk all that if we leave Ukraine, if we turn our backs on Israel, is simply not worth it.”

The purpose of the speech was to show why the war between Israel and Hamas and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia are important to the American public.

He said the support of both countries is a “smart investment that will pay dividends for American security for generations, we will help protect American troops from danger, we will help build a world that is safer, more peaceful and more prosperous for our children.” Grandchildren.”

Biden also said with certainty that the Gaza hospital bombing earlier this week “was not carried out by the Israelis.” The New York Times and other news media first reported the Gaza Health Ministry’s claim that the explosion was the result of an Israeli airstrike. But they had to revise and update their headlines as the Israeli military blamed a failed Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket launch. Biden later said it was “clear” that the terrorist group was responsible, citing Defense Department intelligence.

The speech was a rare Oval Office address broadcast in prime time on broadcast and cable networks, underscoring the gravity of the crisis and the White House’s determination to ensure its message gets across.

The speech was a prelude to the White House’s supplemental budget request to Congress, which is currently paralyzed by the Republican leadership battle in the House of Representatives. The president called for what he described as partisan divisions that hamper the response to international crises to be set aside.

“Time is of the essence,” he said. “We cannot allow petty, partisan and angry politics to stand in the way of our responsibilities as a great nation.”

The president also addressed the rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the United States since the Hamas attack on Israel.

“We must condemn anti-Semitism without question,” Biden said. “We must also denounce Islamophobia without hesitation. I want you to say to everyone who is hurting: I see you. You should. And I want to tell you this: You are all Americans. You are all Americans.”

“In times like these, when fear, mistrust, rage and anger are high, we must work harder than ever to hold on to the values ​​that make us who we are,” he said.

The White House is grappling with waning support for Ukraine from Republicans who refused to include additional funding in a budget resolution last month. But Biden’s goal was to show how the crises in Ukraine and Israel are connected, thereby justifying votes for an “unprecedented” $100 billion aid package. He noted that both Russia and Hamas “both want to completely destroy a neighboring democracy.”

“If we walk away and allow Putin to erase Ukraine’s independence, aggressors around the world will be encouraged to try to do the same,” he said. “The risk of conflict and chaos could spread to other parts of the world. In the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, especially the Middle East. Iran supports Russia in Ukraine and supports Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region.”

The speech received rare support from Fox News commentator Brit Hume, who said the speech “will be remembered as one of the best, if not the best, speeches of his presidency.”

“He was steadfast, he was clear, he was strong, especially in the last days before he went to Israel and while he was there,” Hume said.