Story by Hadar Susskind
Palestinian Hoda al-Arouqi, who was injured as a result of overnight Israeli bombardment, inspects the damage to her home in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
President Joe Biden‘s decision to have the United States
abstain, and thus allow passage of the United Nations Security Council resolution
calling for a ceasefire in Gaza was the right call. The resolution demands an
immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all
hostages. By allowing the resolution to pass the U.S. has staked out a position
in favor of ending this horrible war, and in opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s prioritization of his political well-being over the current and future good of Israelis and
Palestinians alike.
Since the horrific attacks of Oct. 7 and the subsequent Israeli retaliation on Gaza,
the U.S. has maintained its traditional role of backstopping Israel at the UN
by vetoing three previous ceasefire resolutions. Biden has also continued to
provide Israel with military aid, and, in an unprecedented move, sent U.S.
aircraft carriers to the region to ensure that a wider conflict did not break
out. All this despite hostility toward the Biden administration and the Israeli
government’s abnegation of its responsibility for providing food, water, and
medical care to those whose land it occupies.afah
It’s true, without the U.S. running diplomatic interference, there would be more
than enough UN resolutions criticizing Israel to fill a very large storage
facility. And even if you believe these are essentially toothless, the fact
remains that the UN does express world opinion. The Obama administration’s
abstention on a UN resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlements is still
used by the right to “prove” that Democrats don’t really support Israel. The
resolutions matter because world leaders think that they matter, and in this
case, they do.
