My chosen text is an interview between Isaac Chotiner, a journalist for the New Yorker, and Aaron David Miller, a former official of the US Department of State and participant in Middle Eastern negotiations, on the topic of the Biden Administration’s relationship with the Israeli government.
At one point during the interview, Miller says “But, Isaac, look, just between you and me—” an attempt to create a sense of closeness with a person over the phone who he will likely not speak with again. This is an interesting rhetorical strategy because Miller refuses to create a personal connection with Palestinian people, people who he admits are on the verge of “catastrophic starvation” due to Israeli blockades. Miller describes the goal of Israel, a goal which he believes Biden shares, as “to insure that Hamas… is never in a position to… threaten those communities near Gaza.” The communities being bombarded by Israel within Gaza, the constant threat they are under, are left out of this goal.
Miller doesn’t have an answer as to how the Biden administration can effectively exert any meaningful power of change on the Israeli government. He claims that deescalation will not come from Biden “renouncing, [or] calling out” Benjamin Netanyahu, believing that collaboration is necessary. However, he claims that the Administration is both unwilling and unable to apply pressure. His first reason for this is that Biden “has an emotional relationship with the idea of Israel.” Miller touches on the relationship between the US and Israel several times throughout the interview, stating that it is driven by inherent “shared values and common interests.” However, he acknowledges that the Israeli government is far-right-wing, ignorant of the “humanitarian situation,” and intentionally suppressing aid that they have ample resources to provide. This creates a confusing dichotomy—if the US and Israel are working together towards democratic ideals, why is the US both “unable and unwilling” to exercise any power over the human rights violations committed by the Israeli government?
At the end of the interview, Chotnier points out that “[when] you discussed the horrors of October 7th, I sensed an emotion in your voice that I haven’t heard at any other time in this conversation.” He goes on to ask if Miller believes that this difference in emotion when discussing Israeli and Palestinian lives extends to the majority of those in the US who are involved in foreign policy. Miller replies that there is no doubt that “America and Americans” tend to be pro-Israel, a generalization which emphasizes his biased viewpoint. He does not deny his difference in emotional response when it comes to Israeli and Palestinian suffering. Instead, Miller says that he believes that Biden has a personal connection with Israeli suffering, that there is no doubt that Biden does not have “the same depth of feeling and empathy for the Palestinians of Gaza as he does for the Israelis.” Miller does not elaborate on a reasoning for this, only vaguely implying that it has something to do with the history of US-Israeli relations, although he admits that he cannot explain when this relationship became “special or institutionally mature.”
Undercutting the entire interview, and Miller’s beliefs, is a pervasive dehumanization of Palestinian people. When confronted with thousands of Palestinian deaths, with American complacency in the face of the horrors being committed in Gaza, Miller states that he is not invested in this “analysis,” emphasizing that he is simply “analyzing,” separating himself from Palestinian lives in a way that is very different from his investment in Israeli lives. He can step back and “analyze” Palestinian deaths, but is clearly capable of emotional investment otherwise. He believes that Biden knows Natanyahu is a “problem,” but also believes that American hands are tied. He essentially says “so it goes.” Baudrillard’s wording of “an asexual surgical war,” comes to mind, a war in which people in power see Palestinians “only… as a computerized target.” Miller attempts to normalize the atrocities committed by the Israeli government, distancing himself from the suffering of Palestinians. He also blurs the line between Hamas and the civilians of Gaza, at one point saying that Israelis do not care about “the population in Gaza as long as they hold hostages.”
What this text emphasized for me was the importance of pressing political figures for answers and accountability—and, of course, action. When faced with such blatant disregard for Palestinian lives, it also had me reflect on the fact that it’s crucial to remember these biases and learn from, as well as uplift, the voices of the people who are suffering due to this conflict, whether it be Palestinians living in Gaza or the increasing diaspora.
“Biden’s Increasingly Contradictory Israel Policy” by Isaac Chotiner
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/bidens-increasingly-contradictory-israel-policy
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