Democratic presidential front-runner and former vice president Joe Biden has told members of the IfNotNow Jewish anti-occupation movement that “the occupation is a real problem,” and called for a two-state solution, while also pointing the finger at Palestinian leadership for inciting violence and rejecting Israeli offers for peace.
He was one of three major Democratic presidential candidates who were ambushed by Jewish anti-occupation activists from the IfNotNow organization over the weekend. The other two candidates that IfNotNow fellows caught on camera talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and former Newark, New Jersey, mayor and current US Senator Corey Booker.
On Friday at a Biden campaign event in Dover, New Hampshire, IfNotNow fellow Elias Newman asked Biden whether he would pressure Israel to end the occupation if he were to be elected.
Biden first responded that “I think the settlements are unnecessary,” and added that “the only answer is a two-state solution, number one; number two, the Palestinians have to step up too and be prepared to stop the hate that [they have] caused, so it’s a two-way street.”
Asked if he believed the Israeli military control of the West Bank amounted to “a human rights crisis,” Biden said that he believes “the occupation is a real problem, a significant problem.”
When Biden was asked if he would “pressure Israel to end the occupation as president,” Biden responded: “The answer, do you know anything about my record?” When Newman responded in the affirmative, Biden said, “Then you know I have, well you know I have….” READ MORE
