IT is too long an explanation in a newspaper column to explain how an action, a thought, a reflection, a response can be wrong yet there is a logical inherency to it.
We will have to stick with the example of the fight between the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer.

Mr. Schumer made a scathing attack on Netanyahu’s leadership that has never before witnessed in the US halls of power from a pro-Israeli politician. The analysts believe that Mr. Schumer’s outrage was vicariously done – it was President Biden’s outrage.

Mr. Netanyahu was not impressed. And he has a logical reason for rebuffing what Mr. Schumer uttered. Before we described the logic in Mr. Netanyahu’s reaction it should be noted that in the speech, Mr. Schumer made two statements that are a goldmine for students in the Third World studying international relations.

I would urge current teachers of international relations to use those two statements to explain to their students the traditional undercurrents of global affairs.
Mr. Schumer said: “We love Israel in our bones.” It is the country Mr. Schumer has in mind or is it the race of people who live in Israel? Mr. Schumer is a Jew whose name is derived from the Hebrew name of Shomer.

In the other statement he noted that Israel is surrounded by vicious enemies. This is a misleading statement and is not factual in the realpolitik dimension of international affairs. Let’s return to Netanyahu’s reaction.
Mr. Netanyahu is no fool. He is experienced enough to understand the crucial nuances in American domestic politics. Before the October 7 assault by Hamas, the polls had Trump ahead of Biden.

But the percentage was always close and there was no iron-clad proof that Trump will win.
All of that changed after President Biden’s unimaginable support for Israel’s action in Gaza. Mr. Biden’s support was more emotional than intellectual.

He went over the top and as the dead bodies of Palestinian women and children piled up on top of each other and as millions protested emotionally in the streets and at public events in the US, Mr. Biden’s re-election success began to wane.

The point to note is that there is an immeasurable chasm between the public in Western nations and their governments over Gaza. The Labour Party in the UK recalled a candidate for a by-election because of criticism of Israel and an inflexibly left-wing, pro-Palestinian candidate – George Galloway- known throughout the UK for his left-wing ideology, contested the seat and won handsomely.

In Italy, on the anniversary of the Holocaust, the Italian Government asked citizens to be respectful and not have any pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Hundreds of thousands ignored the call.

In the US, the Democratic Party is worried that Biden’s Gaza stance will cause him to lose election because millions, because of conscience, will not vote for Biden. So Biden sent Kamala Harris to instruct Netanyahu to call a ceasefire. She was rebuffed.

She reported back to Biden and two things emerged from the Harris revelation – one is that US will ignore Israel’s attitude and form a plank on the Mediterranean Sea to deliver massive food aid to Gaza and the other is Schumer’s speech. Enter Netanyahu.

Netanyahu knows why Harris came last week. He knows why Schumer made the speech. He is ethically and morally wrong to continue the war but he is saying to Biden that you want me to stop the war for your own reason. You do not have an ideological reason for wanting the war to stop, you have a pragmatic purpose. You want the war to stop because you are afraid you will lose the November election.

Netanyahu is using a logical twist to argue his case. The story becomes enormously complicated because Netanyahu hopes to still be in power in November when the most important presidential contest in the entire history of the US begins.
Biden is caught in a no-win situation.

He is seen as a person with memory problems because of age. He is hemorrhaging votes because of his over-exuberant embrace of the war in Gaza. Thirdly, it suits Netanyahu’ realpolitik thinking to have Trump back in the presidency.

The people of the world should not be deceived by the Schumer speech. Schumer speech, Harris’ Israeli visit, and the aid bridge in the Mediterranean are vote-catching directions to help the Democratic Party win the November race. But even if those measures help Biden, the Democratic Party will lose once Biden is in the race. Trump can still be beaten but not by Biden.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.