Joe Biden has likened the treatment of Palestinians to Britain’s violent past in Ireland – sparking furious criticism of the “absurd and pathetic” comparison.
Speaking towards the end of his two-day visit to Israel, the US president said: “The background of my family is Irish American and we have a long history, not fundamentally unlike the Palestinian people, with Great Britain and their attitude toward Irish Catholics over the years, for 400 years.”
He continued: “Palestinians and Israelis deserve equal measure of freedom, security, prosperity and dignity and access to healthcare, when you need it, is essential to living a life of dignity for all of us.”
The comments have been roundly criticised, with Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, tweeting: “This analogy absurd and pathetic”.
US President Joe Biden has sparked controversy for comparing the Israel-Palestine conflict with Britain’s violent past in Northern Ireland. pic.twitter.com/jEtxRhC0Sh
— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) July 15, 2022
Former Capitol Hill staffer Boris Ryvkin tweeted: “Biden is saying the ‘Palestinian people’ are indigenous and the Jews, with ties to the land of Israel going back three thousand years across multiple sovereign kingdoms, are foreign colonists. Stuff you’d hear from the PLO or US English professors rather than the POTUS.”
Larry O’Connor, a conservative journalist, wrote: “How to insult America's two greatest allies on the planet in one statement.”
Author Ali Shihabi quipped: “There goes the post Brexit ‘special relationship’.”
John Cooper of the Heritage Foundation said: “Nothing to see here, just our ‘foreign policy expert’ president insulting two of our closest allies, Britain and Israel, in an effort to buddy up to a group of people led by terrorists.”
Josh Hammer, opinion editor of the magazine Newsweek, wrote: “Shame on Isaac Herzog for giving this man some sort of honorary ‘friend of Israel’ medal.”
Biden made the comments just one day after Israeli President Isaac Herzog awarded him the country's Medal of Honor — the Jewish state’s highest civilian award.
The White House has not yet commented on the controversy surrounding his comments. The UK Foreign Office has been contacted for a response.
READ MORE: Joe Biden says ‘You need not be a Jew to be a Zionist’ on first visit to Israel as president
