Blinken faces protesters, divided Congress as Israel diplomacy comes home
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the nation's top diplomat, turned his powers of persuasion inward Tuesday — laying out the emotional and practical cases for supporting Israel and Ukraine to a divided domestic audience.
Why it matters: The stepson of a Holocaust survivor and one of President Biden's closest confidants, Blinken's appeals represent the latest attempts to corral support for the administration's strategy on two of its defining foreign policy crises.
- The stakes could not be higher: House Republicans have proposed a standalone bill on Israel aid that doesn't include Ukraine funding — potentially endangering Biden's long-term commitment to Kyiv.
- The administration's full-throated support for Israel's operation in Gaza, meanwhile, has triggered a furious backlash among young voters, progressives, and Arab and Muslim Americans.
Driving the news: In a hearing hosted by the Senate Appropriations Committee, Blinken's opening statement was interrupted at least five times by protesters — some of whom had painted their hands blood red — calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
- Blinken acknowledged "the passions expressed" in and out of the hearing room and stressed the need to protect Palestinian civilians — including by funding humanitarian assistance to Gaza as part of an Israel aid package.
- "We don't have to choose between defending Israel and aiding Palestinian civilians. We can and must do both," Blinken wrote in a Washington Post op-ed Tuesday afternoon.
On calls for a ceasefire, however, Blinken made clear that U.S. policy would not change in the short-term — even as the humanitarian crisis deepens and Palestinian casualties spiral in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
- "A ceasefire, in this moment, would simply consolidate what Hamas has been able to do and allow it to remain where it is, and potentially repeat what it did another day. And that's not tolerable," Blinken said.
- To underscore his point, Blinken described — in excruciating detail — a scene from one of the kibbutzes where he said Hamas had tortured and executed an entire family: "No nation could tolerate that," he said.
The latest: At least 1,400 people were killed and more than 230 others were taken hostage in Hamas' attack on Israel more than three weeks ago, according to Israeli officials.
- More than 8,500 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's retaliatory operation began, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Between the lines: Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who testified alongside him, made the case that Israel and Ukraine are both fighting U.S. adversaries with a common destructive goal and ally in Iran.
- "To put it succinctly, for our adversaries, be they states or non-states, this is all one fight and we have to respond in a way that recognizes that," Blinken said, urging senators to combine the aid packages.
- After his testimony, Blinken crossed the Capitol to meet with new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), a Ukraine-skeptical conservative who presents the single largest obstacle to Congress approving new funding.
What to watch: The pressure campaign from anti-war and pro-Palestinian activists is unlikely to abate any time soon.
- The National Muslim Democratic Council issued an ultimatum to Biden and Democratic leaders vowing to "mobilize Muslim, Arab, and allied voters" to withhold support in 2024 from candidates who did not advocate for a ceasefire by 5pm ET today.
- Blinken will travel to Israel on Friday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials as the ground offensive in Gaza intensifies.
