Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
US President Joe Biden is facing the most difficult election campaign of his life. His opponent, former President Donald Trump, is leading in the polls, and most analysts expect that Trump will win in November 2024 by a landslide against Biden.
Even most Democrats doubt Biden could win, and many Democrats have even gone so far as to suggest he withdraw from the race, and let another person take a shot at winning.
In the American football jargon of the NFL, the "Hail Mary" pass is a long thrown football by the quarterback, when the team is about to lose, and only a miracle catch and touchdown could turn into a win.
Biden is facing such a situation in his 2024 presidential re-election campaign. Most Democrats disapprove of his policy in the Gaza war. Younger voters overwhelmingly disapprove of his support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
American voters know that the weapons Israel uses to carry out war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are supplied by the US Biden administration, and paid for the hard-working American tax payer.
From coast to coast, Biden's poll numbers were way down before October 7, and now are at the lowest point. Michigan is a key state that Biden must win in order to be re-elected, but right now he is losing Michigan.
Michigan has a high concentration of Arab Americans, and they have promised not to vote for Biden because of his refusal to ask for a ceasefire, and the unbridled flow of weapons to Israel even though the flow is in violation of State Department rules that prevent weapons going to any country that is liable to use them in violation of human rights.
Jews make up about 2% of the US population, and they are divided on the Gaza War. We have seen Jewish activists protesting against the Biden policy in Gaza. African Americans have voiced opposition to Biden because of Gaza. They equate the racial injustice their communities had suffered, and some continue to suffer, in the US with the racist policy in Israel that treats Jews as deserving of human rights, but deny Palestinians their most basic rights. African Americans are on the side of oppressed people, not the oppressor. They recall Nelson Mandela when he said, "We will not be free until the Palestinian people are free."
But, Biden still has time to pull off a miraculous win with his version of a "Hail Mary" pass.
Biden would call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with an exchange of hostages for prisoners held in Israel without trial. Why would Israel agree to that? Because Biden could shut down the weapons flow, adhering to existing State Department rules that weapons will not be shipped to countries engaged in humanitarian violations, which means holding Israel to the same standards as all the other countries on earth.
Biden could organize an international conference between the Palestinian representatives, the Arab League, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the US, and Israel designing a reasonable proposal to implement the existing UN resolution calling for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The conference would outline a time table toward a full Palestinian state.
Biden could get a commitment from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran that they will cease any attacks on Israel during the peace process with a time frame attached.
Hamas has said they do not seek the extermination of the Jewish people, but are fighting for the freedom of Palestine. Iran has stated they are fighting for the freedom of Palestine, and they will respect any peace deal the Palestinians will accept. Hezbollah is fighting for the freedom of Palestine, but also they are resisting the Israeli military occupation of a piece of Lebanese land. Israel would need to relinquish the Shebaa Farms in Lebanon in return for a lasting peace on their northern border.
If, Biden were to lead the initiative to bring peace to the Middle East, he would not only win the US election in November, but he would likely win the Noble Peace Prize, which Obama won for doing nothing.
The UN and many humanitarian and human rights organizations have labeled Israel as an Apartheid state, and that was long before the Gaza war began. Those same groups have added the crime of genocide to the list of complaints against Israel, which Biden calls America's strongest ally in the Middle East, and the only democracy in the Middle East.
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