PRESIDENT BIDEN PLEDGES MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL, WILL ASK CONGRESS FOR EMERGENCY ACTION

View video of President Joe Biden’s speech

By Miriam Raftery

October 10, 2023 (Washington D.C.) – President Joe Biden today delivered a forceful speech pledging full support for Israel against the attacks by Hamas, which the president called “pure evil.” Biden promised that the U.S. is surging assets to Israel, including ammunition and receptors to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, as well as sending the USS Gerald Ford air force carrier to the region.  

He also announced plans to ask Congress to take urgent action as soon as Congress reconvenes (after the House elects a speaker). Biden also said he has consulted with European leaders to forge a united response. In addition, he spoke of beefing up security for Jewish centers in the U.S. and assured that the FBI and Homeland Security are on the alert for any potential domestic terror threats.

“There is no justification for terrorism,” the President said, then offered this message to the Palestinian people. “Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. Their stated purpose is the annihilation of the state of Israel and the murder of Jewish people, They use Palestinian people as human shields. Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard for who pays the price.”

The President detailed atrocities reportedly committed by Hamas, which he likened to ISIS, including slaughtering babies, grandparents, and young people at a music festival, raping women and parading them through the street, as well as taking hostages including Americans.

Biden spoke of the “hostages whom Hamas has now threatened to execut,  in violation of every  code of human morality.” Biden pledged his highest priority is the protection of American lives, and offered Israel consultation with U.S. experts in hostage crisis situations.

He called on all Americans to mourn with Israelis who lost loved ones,  adding, “There is no place for hate in America—not against Jews,not against Muslims, not against anybody.”

The President affirmed that Israel, “like any nation in the world, has a right to respond, and indeed, a duty to respond to these viscous attacks.”  Biden did not call for restraint by Israel,  but did draw a line because the intentional targeting of civilians by Hamas and the actions of countries such as the U.S. that agree to abide by the rules of war.

He recalled meeting Israel’s first Prime Minister, Golda Meier, nearly 50 years ago, shortly before the Yom Kippur War. Now a half century later,  President Biden concluded, “Let there be no doubt. The United States has Israel’s back. We will make sure the Jewish and democratic state of Israel can defend itself today, tomorrow, as we always have…We’re with Israel.”

Full text of President Joe Biden’s speech, transcribed by ECM:

Good afternoon. You know there are moments in this life, I mean this literally, when pure unadulterated evil is unleased on this world. The people of Israel lived through one such event this weekend at the bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas, a group whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews.

This is an act of sheer evil. More than 1,000 civilians slaughtered—slaughtered--in Israel. Among them, at least 14 American citizens killed. Parents butchered, using their bodies, trying to protect their children. Stomach-churning reports of babies being killed. Entire families slain. Young people massacred while attending a music festival to celebrate peace—to celebrate peace! Women raped, assaulted, and paraded as trophies. Families hid their fear for hours and hours, desperately trying to keep their children quiet to avoid drawing attention. And thousands and thousands of wounded, alive but carrying with them the shrapnel and the bullet holes and the memories of what they endured.

You all know these traumas never go away, and still so many families are desperately waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones, not knowing if they’re alive or dead or hostage. Infants in their mothers’ arms,  grandparents in wheelchairs, Holocaust survivors abducted and held hostage, hostages whom Hamas has now threatened to execute  in violation of every  code of human morality.

It’s abhorrent, the brutality of Hamas. Its blood thirstiness brings to mind the worst rampages of ISIS. It’s terrorism, but sadly for the Jewish people it’s not new.  This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by a millennium of antisemitism and genocide on the Jewish people. 

In this moment, we must be crystal clear. We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel. We will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, to defend itself to respond to this attack.

 There is no justification for terrorism. There is no excuse. 

Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. Their stated purpose is the annihilation of the state of Israel and the murder of Jewish people, They use Palestinian people as human shields.

Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard for who pays the price. The loss of innocent life is heartbreaking.

Like any nation in the world, Israel has a right to respond and indeed, a duty to respond to these vicious attacks.

 I just got off the phone, my third call with Prime Minister Netanyahu,  and I told him if the United States experienced what Israel’s experiencing, our response would be swift decisive and overwhelming. 

We also discussed how democracies like Israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when they act according to the rule of law. Terrorists purposely target civilians and kill them.  We uphold the laws of war. It matters. There’s a difference.

Today people across America are praying for all the families that have been ripped apart. A lot of us know how it feels; it leaves a black hole in your chest when you lose a family; feeling like you’re being sucked in, the anger and the pain, a sense of hopelessness; this is what they mean by human tragedy, an atrocity on an appalling scale. 

We’re going to continue to stand united, supporting the people of Israel who are suffering unspeakable losses, and opposing the hatred and violence of terrorism.

My team has been in near constant communication with our Israeli partners and our partners all across the region and the world from the moment this crisis began.

We’re surging additional military assistance including ammunition and interceptors to replenish Iron Dome. We’re going to make sure that Israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens.

My administration has consulted closely with Congress throughout this crisis and when Congress returns, we’re going to ask them to take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners. This is not about party or politics  this is about the security of our world, the security of the United States of America.

We now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas. I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and to deploy additional experts from cross the United States government to consult with and advise our Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts because as president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world.

The U..S  has also enhanced our military force posture around the region to strengthen our deterrent. The Department of Defense has moved the USS Gerald R Ford carrier striker to the eastern Mediterranean and bolstered our fighter aircraft presence. We stand ready to move in additional assets as needed.

Let me say again to any country, any organization, any country thinking of taking advantage of this situation--I have one word- don’t.  Don’t. Our hearts may be broken, but our resolve is clear.

Yesterday I also spoke with the leaders of France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom to discuss the latest developments with our European allies and coordinate a united response. This comes on top of days of steady engagement with partners across the region.

We’re also taking steps at home.  In cities across the United States of America, police depts have stepped up security around centers of Jewish life. The Department of Homeland security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are working closely with state and local law enforcement and with Jewish community partners to identify and disrupt any threats which could occur in connection with these horrific attacks.  

This is a time for the United States to come together to grieve with those who are mourning. Let’s be real clear. There is no place for hate in America. Not against Jews, not against Muslims, not against anybody.  We reject, what we reject is terrorism.

We condemn indiscriminate evil just as we’ve always done. That’s what American stands for. 

You know just over 50 years ago, I was thinking about it this morning, talking with our Secretary of State and the Vice President in my office. Over 50 years ago, as a young Senator I visited Israel for the first time as a newly elected Senator, and I had a long, long meeting with Golda Meier in her office, just before the Yom Kippur war. And I guess she could see the consternation on my face as she described what was being faced, what they were facing.

We walked outside in that hallway outside her office; she looked at me all of a sudden and said, “Would you like to have a photograph?” So I got up and followed her out. We were standing there silent, looking at the press. She could tell I was concerned. She leaned over and whispered to me, “Don’t worry Senator Biden. We have a secret weapon here in Israel. My word, what she said is, “We have no place else to go. We have no place else to go.” 

For 75 years, Israel has stood as the only guarantor of the safety and security of Jewish people around the world so that there could be no repeat of the atrocities of the past could never happen again. And let there be no doubt. The United States has Israel’s back. We will make sure the Jewish and democratic state of Israel can defend itself today, tomorrow as we always have. It’s as simple as that. These atrocities are sickening.

We’re with Israel. Let’s make no mistake. Thank you.