BIDEN'S PLEDGE

I call on President Biden to pledge not to return from Israel and the Middle East until the Americans presently locked in Gaza are out and free to return to the United States.

The present situation is untenable. About 5-600 Americans are locked in Gaza and not able to exit because the border crossings at Rafah and Eretz remain closed and the U.S. Navy has not yet indicated any effort to send ships and boats to pick up refugees who can make it to the beaches of Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea.

Biden, understandably, is declaring that he and the United States of America stand with Israel. What he has not yet apparently done is to take any steps to get the Americans who wish to leave out of Gaza. Israel controls the Eretz crossing. In view of Biden’s strong commitment to Israel, it is not clear why Israel cannot open the crossing for Americans who wish to leave. Nor is it clear why Biden has not just directed the U.S. Navy to send ships/boats to pick up U.S. refugees off the Gaza beaches.

If Biden wants the American public to support his tight embrace of Israel, it is essential that he demonstrate that he is doing all in his power to do as much for the American refugees as he is doing for the Israelis. He must not return to Washington while Americans are still trapped in Gaza with no clear means of gaining an exit.