POLITICO
As the conflict claims more lives, the words U.S. officials use are telling.
A Palestinian protester uses a sling shot to hurls back a tear gas canister during clashes with Israeli troops south of the West Bank city of Nablus on May 17. | Majdi Mohammed/AP Photo
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The Biden administration would like Israelis and Palestinians to “calm” down. Ideally, a “sustainable calm” that comes because the two sides “deescalate tensions” and bring a “halt to the violence.”
In speeches, interviews, tweets and call readouts, President Joe Biden and his aides have used some version of the above terms more than 40 times during the past week.
Expert Views on Escalating Violence in the Middle East
How do Americans view the long-standing conflict in the Middle East? What led to the latest escalations across the Holy Land this week? And what challenges do these rising tensions pose to U.S. leadership?
This week, we are joined by:
Lydia Saad, Gallup Director of U.S. Social Research
Khaled Elgindy, Director of Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs at the Middle East Institute
Dr. Natan Sachs, Director of the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings
Access all Gallup Podcast content through iTunes, Google Play, Tune In, and Stitcher.
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Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot can’t even express worry for her friends and family in Israel as it’s being attacked by terror group Hamas without receiving backlash from Palestinian sympathizers.
Gadot, the Israel-born actress who has become a huge star in the United States, took to Twitter on May 12 to talk about her fears for her home country as it’s currently being bombarded by rockets from the Palestinian terror group Hamas. Because radical leftists on Twitter hate Israel about as much as they hate America, they called her out for showing even the slightest bit of sympathy for her and her family’s home.
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May. 11, 2021
WASHINGTON – As tensions in Jerusalem and Gaza boil over, there is growing dissatisfaction among former U.S. officials and policy experts regarding the Biden administration’s approach toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Sources describe the administration’s apparent disengagement from the conflict as intentionally neglectful, with the implication being that the administration has determined it is politically unwise to get actively involved in Israeli-Palestinian matters or dragged into an intractable conflict.
This approach is disconnected from the reality of America’s outsized role with both the Israelis and the Palestinians, they say, adding that the United States will be forced to get involved if the violence gets worse. They are imploring the U.S. government to take a more vested interest now in preventing things from spiraling further out of control.
Khaled Elgindy, moderator
Co-host:
Biographies:
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is a well-known progressive warrior and, in her own words, “a mother working for justice for all.” Her two young sons are at the root of her unwavering passion to help change lives for the better. She is the oldest of 14 children, born and raised in Detroit, the proud daughter of Palestinian immigrant parents.
Rashida made history in 2008 by becoming the first Muslim woman to ever serve in the Michigan Legislature. She is beloved by residents for the transformative constituent services she provided, and for successfully fighting the billionaires and corporations that tried to pollute her district. When families get to know Rashida, they have no doubt that she will work tirelessly to knock down barriers for real change, and whether by policy or action, she will roll up her sleeves to make sure her residents are cared for, no matter how big the challenge.