The huge demonstrations flooding the streets, parks and plazas across Israel are in many ways inspiring. Reports of more than 250,000 Israeli Jews challenging their far-right government are on the front pages of newspapers around the world.
Here in the U.S., the official response has been “concern.” President Biden “remains concerned” about “some of the extremist activities and behavior by some members of the [Israel Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu cabinet,” a spokesman said. Among other controversies, the Israeli finance minister calls himself a “fascist,” while the country’s national security minister was previously convicted of inciting racism.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, is reportedly concerned about Israel’s military capacity amid the protests.
One thing that Washington doesn’t seem concerned about is Israel’s continued denial of Palestinians’ rights. And perhaps that’s not surprising, because the protests roiling Israel largely leave them out too.