In the midst of making a mishloach manos delivery run this past Sunday, I drove by my local public library, which had signs outside about early voting. Since I’ve turned 18, I never missed an election, and my reward for being a “prime voter” is a sizable amount of mail, texts, and phone calls. How was I not aware that New York’s presidential primary is happening this week?
With the presumptive nominees in both major parties set for a rematch in November, was there any point for me to enter the library and vote? From Michigan, anti-Israel activists sent the message that the race is not over, with 13 percent of party voting marking their choice as “uncommitted” in protest of President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
New York’s primary ballot does not offer an option for a write-in or uncommitted, so leftists here are promoting #LeaveItBlank on social media as a way of showing that they vote while protesting the incumbent. Their campaign has a feeling of momentum following unprecedented percentages in Michigan and Minnesota, leading to a shift of policy by the administration.
The day after Purim, delegates at the UN Security Council applauded the passage of Resolution 2728, which called for “an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties,” the “unconditional release of all hostages” and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and expanding the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
Satisfied that the resolution’s text mentions the hostages, the US Ambassador to the UN made a rare abstention rather than exercising the veto power to protect Israel from condemnation. As is often the case with such resolution, words are open to interpretation.
Hamas and its supporters regard terrorists held in Israeli prisons as “hostages” with the same status as Israeli civilians captured on October 7. Among nations hostile towards Israel, reactions to the resolution spoke of the resolution as a first step towards making the ceasefire permanent and imposing a postwar scenario that would handicap Israel’s ability to defend itself, lest it violate international law and be subjected to sanctions and war crimes.
Three previous ceasefire resolutions were vetoed for not mentioning the hostages, and a fourth resolution sponsored by the US last week was vetoed by Russia and China for being “ambiguous” and not calling for an immediate ceasefire. Monday’s resolution had enough elements to withhold the veto by the US, but not as much for an affirmative vote that would have made it unanimous.
“Certain key edits were ignored, including our request to add a condemnation of Hamas,” stated Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN said at the vote, explaining her abstention. “We did not agree with everything in this resolution. For that reason, we were unfortunately not able to vote yes. We fully support some of the critical objectives in this nonbinding resolution. And we believe it was important for the council to speak out and make clear that any ceasefire must come with the release of all hostages.”
“Our vote does not represent a shift in our policy,” White House spokesman John Kirby said. “We have been clear and consistent in our support for a hostage release as part of a cease-fire.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted swiftly to the vote by ordering his advisers not to meet with White House officials to discuss operations in Rafah and hostage negotiations.
“This constitutes a clear departure from the consistent US position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war,” Netanyahu’s office wrote in a statement. “Today’s resolution gives Hamas hope that international pressure will force Israel to accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages, thus harming both the war effort and the effort to release the hostages.”
Kirby expressed disappointment in the snub, as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was in Washington that day to discuss aid for Israel. “We have been very clear: We have been very consistent in our support for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. That’s how the hostage deal is structured, and the resolution acknowledges the ongoing talks,” he said, adding: “There’s no reason for it to be an escalation.”
Was it in Israel’s best interest not to meet with White House officials after the refusal to veto the resolution? When there is a void, inevitably something will fill it. In the absence of Israeli engagement with the Biden administration, elements hostile to the Jewish state are exaggerating their role in the Democratic Party, hoping that the uncommitted votes are not a protest but a generational shift that would transform the Israel-Palestine conflict into a partisan matter.
For this reason, I cast my vote for Biden in the seemingly meaningless New York primary, to express my participation as a stakeholder. On the previous night at a Purim party, I introduced my friends to Laura Gillen, the Democratic candidate for the Fourth congressional district that covers West Hempstead, Oceanside, Long Beach, and the Five Towns. In the same week, I also thanked her Republican opponent, incumbent Anthony D’Esposito, for his direct and uncompromising support of Israel when confronted in a Capitol hallway by a leftist heckler.
I believe that American support for Israel is strong when it is bipartisan. As was the case in last month’s special election in the Third District on the North Shore of Long Island, both candidates stood with Israel, disagreeing mainly on domestic issues. With the majority in Congress resting on five seats, it is comforting to know that likewise in my district, Gillen and D’Esposito both support Israel.
In theory, I would like to see Gush Katif rebuilt as the most visible message of victory against Hamas. But recognizing that Israel cannot function on the international stage without a reliable ally, the Netanyahu coalition should exercise a bit of humility and trust in the United States. It has no other reliable ally among the superpowers. As much as the two countries disagree on the two-state solution and settlements, the United States never abandoned Israel or unilaterally recognized Palestine as other western nations had done. At least it hasn’t done it yet.
This is why I am calling on fellow Jewish voters enrolled as registered Democrats not to sit out this week’s primary. The last day to vote is this Tuesday. Cast your ballot for Biden to minimize the impact of the leftists. Come November, if his Israel policy does not satisfy your vision of a postwar Middle East, you can vote for Trump, or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In any case, it is important to participate in the electoral process.
By Sergey Kadinsky
