Washington, D.C. – President Joe Biden, the highest recipient of pro-Israel lobby donations over the past 34 years according to OpenSecrets.org, has vehemently defended Israel against war crimes and genocide charges in international courts. This defense comes as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, led by members who have also received significant funding from pro-Israel groups, passed legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its efforts to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli officials.
OpenSecrets data reveals that Biden has received a staggering $5,688,069 from pro-Israel groups and individuals throughout his political career as a Senator, Vice President, and now President. In response to the ICC’s probe into alleged war crimes committed by Israel during the war in Gaza, Biden called the actions “outrageous” and stated, “There is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”
The House’s Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, which aims to bar US entry and restrict US-based property transactions for ICC officials involved in the probe, was heavily promoted by lawmakers who have also benefited from pro-Israel lobby money. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who pushed the bill, has received $491,126 from pro-Israel lobbyists. Other key supporters include House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX), who has received $790,085; Chip Roy (R-TX), who has received $43,979; and Brian Mast (R-FL), who has received $610,196 from pro-Israel lobbying groups.
Critics argue that the actions of both Biden and the House representatives demonstrate a disregard for international law and the ICC’s authority to investigate potential war crimes. They maintain that the significant pro-Israel donations raise questions about the influence of special interest groups on U.S. foreign policy and the government’s willingness to hold allies accountable for human rights abuses.
Supporters of Biden and the House bill contend that the ICC’s probe is politically motivated and that Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. They argue that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is complex and cannot be reduced to a simple matter of war crimes.
The data comes from OpenSecrets’ analysis of Federal Election Commission filings and other public records. The non-partisan group has tracked the influence of money on electoral politics for nearly 40 years.
As the U.S. grapples with its response to the ICC’s investigation and the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, voters must scrutinize their elected officials’ financial ties and consider how these connections may shape policy decisions. The debate surrounding the ICC probe and the House’s sanctions bill underscores the need for greater transparency in campaign finance and a deeper examination of the role of special interest groups in U.S. politics, particularly concerning matters of international law and human rights.
1 Comment
Your unceasing effort since the start of the conflict in Gaza to somehow pin the blame for it on the Biden-Harris administration foreign policy leaves me scratching my head in puzzlement and wondering if you’re a Republican agent who’s more interested in seeing Trump return to office in November than getting a resolution to this conflict.
While you direct attention to the $5 million dollars Joe Biden received from pro-Israeli forces received over his forty plus years in office, you ignore the fact that Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, received a $2 billion injection of cash into his equity firm from the Saudis just month after Trump killed off any hope for a two-state solution by relocating the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as part of the so-called Abraham Accords.
The money was payback from Saudi Crown Prince MBZ, who is part of a new generation of middle eastern leaders who in recent years have sought to distance themselves from the Palestinian plight, which is now considered by many as unresolvable, partly because the forces of extremism in Palestine, represented by Hamas, have threatened to kill moderate leaders whenever they get close to reaching a peace deal.
Should you succeed in your effort to persuade Black people cast a vote for Congressman Bowman but not for President Biden, it would all but guarantee Trump’s re-election. And Trump’s already made it clear that he’d do far less than Biden to reign in Israeli forces and give PM Netanyahuh the greenlight to unilaterally set the terms of the peace going forward.
You fancy your attacks on Biden to be radical but it’s actually a white flag signalling surrender of the Palestinian cause.