‘I am a Zionist’: Biden had told Netanyahu during visit

WASHINGTON: When Joe Biden met with

PM Netanyahu

and his war cabinet during his visit to Israel, the

US President

assured them: “I don’t believe you have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist.” The politicians and generals gathered in the ballroom of the Tel Aviv hotel nodded in approval, according to a US official knowledgeable of the closed-door remarks.

Biden, who is of Irish Catholic descent, has used similar words in the past to profess his affinity for Israel. But the moment, which has not been previously reported, illustrates how Biden’s decades as one of the leading “Friends of Israel” in American politics seem to be guiding him during a defining crisis of his presidency. It also underscores the challenges he faces balancing unwavering support for Israel with persuading

Netanyahu

— with whom he has along history — to avoid worsening the civilian death toll and humanitarian meltdown in Gaza as well as complicating further releases of American hostages. “Biden’s connection to Israel is deeply eng rained in his political DNA,” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator who served six secretaries of state in both Democratic and Republican administrations. “Whether he likes it or not, he’s in the midst of a crisis he’ll have to manage.”