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Episode 214: Fake Ceasefire Talks and Feigned 'Concern' - How US Media Helped Distance Biden From the Gaza Genocide

Dec 11, 2024

Dalia Hatuqa, a multimedia journalist specializing in Israeli-Palestinian affairs, unpacks the media's role in shaping narratives around Biden's response to the Gaza crisis. She highlights how U.S. media frames him as either powerless or deeply concerned, while the U.S. actually holds significant leverage over Israel. The discussion critiques the ethics of U.S. arms sales amid humanitarian crises, revealing the media's complicity in obscuring America's true foreign policy stance and reinforcing a narrative that often marginalizes Palestinian voices.

01:13:20

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Episode guests

Dalia Hatuqa

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Quick takeaways

U.S. media frames President Biden as frustrated and helpless regarding Israel’s Gaza actions, obscuring his actual leverage to intervene.

Historical parallels reveal how past administrations also used media narratives to justify military support while claiming humanitarian concerns.

The portrayal of the U.S. as a neutral party in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict conveniently ignores its substantial role in supporting Israel's military actions.

Deep dives

Media's Role in U.S. Support for Israel

The episode discusses how U.S. media portrays President Biden's actions and policies regarding the conflict in Gaza, often framing him as being unable to influence Israel's military actions. Reports frequently depict the administration as frustrated and helpless, relying on narratives that downplay American involvement and responsibility in the ongoing violence. The idea that Biden is secretly furious with Israeli leadership while simultaneously being committed to defending U.S. interests and maintaining support for Israel serves to create a distance between the administration and the consequences of its backing. This selective portrayal obscures the leverage the U.S. truly holds over Israel, making it seem as though Biden's hands are tied when, in reality, he has chosen not to intervene decisively to halt the violence.

Intro

5min

Media Narratives and U.S. Military Involvement

10min

The Ethics of Arms Sales

4min

Media Narratives and U.S. Complicity in Gaza

37min

Ceasefire Negotiations and Media Narratives

11min

Media Narratives and the Dehumanization of Foreign Populations

4min

Gratitude and Engagement: A Festive Farewell

2min

"White House frustrated by Israel's onslaught but sees few options," reports the Washington Post. "White House cancels meeting, scolds Netanyahu in protest over video," announces Axios. "Biden Works Against the Clock as Violence Escalates in the Middle East," asserts The New York Times.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, we've heard seemingly endlessly that the Biden White House disagrees with the violence in Gaza, but can't do anything to stop it. A number of hindrances frustrate the administration, we're told. There are limits to the United States’ influence and power. President Biden is furious and anguished at Israeli leadership. The administration is working around the clock toward a ceasefire, which — we are repeatedly told — will come any day now.

But, as everyone from the Brookings Institution to the Financial Times to Israeli officials and generals themselves make clear: Biden has been able to, and still can, end Israel's genocidal onslaught whenever he wants. The US has dispositive leverage over Israel, leverage Biden has repeatedly––and openly––ruled out using.

The stark reality is that Biden simply doesn't want to stop Israel and, while he may have complaints about the excesses and PR around the margins, he largely agrees with the outlines of Israel’s destruction of Gaza.

To obscure this central fact, US media has now spent over a year pushing out three White House and Israeli-curated media genres of hand-wringing deflection: (1) Helpless Biden, (2) Fuming/Deeply Concerned Biden, and (3) Third Partying.

On this episode, as Biden is set to step down next month, we will go over the media's legacy of covering for the President for 15 months, examine these fictitious reporting genres designed to distance him from the carnage in Gaza, and look at how they worked tirelessly to minimize responsibility and absolve US officials from their involvement in a genocide being live-streamed for over a year.

Our guest is journalist Dalia Hatuqa.

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Citations Needed

Episode 214: Fake Ceasefire Talks and Feigned 'Concern' - How US Media Helped Distance Biden From the Gaza Genocide

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Media's Role in U.S. Support for Israel

Historical Precedents of U.S. Military Policy

Trope of the 'Helpless Biden'

Fiction of Deep Concern for Civilian Casualties

Obscuring U.S. Complicity in the Conflict

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts