Dear Editor,
On Tuesday, Nov. 14, President Joe Biden boarded a jet bound for San Francisco. Along with other officials representing this government’s administration, they would be attending the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. It was around midday Wednesday that President Biden greeted President Xi Jinping and his delegation which had traveled from the People’s Republic of China.
At the outset of their face-to-face meeting, President Biden indicated the objective was to normalize communication channels. President Xi then referred to the China-US bilateral relationship as most important.
In their meeting, which lasted less than four hours, topics to be discussed included the Ukrainian-Russia conflict, the Israel-Hamas war, the trafficking of precursors of fentanyl from China to Mexico, future uses of artificial intelligence, restoration of military- to-military communications, and differing views regarding Taiwan’s independence as a country. Of note, an agreement seems to have been reached on the return of pandas to the Smithsonian National Zoo.
To me, it seems that many consequential global issues were on the agenda for consideration with relatively little time for arriving at meaningful consensus. I expect communicating between parties that don’t share a common language would be time consuming in itself.
Yet, President Biden’s travel plans allowed for a Tuesday afternoon, Pacific Time, arrival in San Francisco and attendance at a DNC fundraiser campaign reception that evening.
Obviously, it’s not for me to know the basis for prioritizing President Biden’s daily schedule of activities. But for me, a significant event on that same Tuesday was overlooked. As reported in The New York Post, nearly 300,000 people rallied on the National Mall in what was described as “the largest pro-Israel gathering in history” to denounce antisemitic protests that celebrate the murder of Jews, pray for Israel and Palestinian citizens alike, and confront all forms of prejudice.
Politically, it was a demonstration of bipartisanship as members of Congress from both parties joined hands to show solidarity for Israel, condemn the Hamas attacks, and call for the release of some 240 hostages.
Since to date President Biden has made no substantive comments regarding the pro-Hamas demonstrations, perhaps his choice to not stand on the National Mall with Israel and the Jewish people against antisemitism is his attempt at being fair and balanced.
For me, it was an opportunity missed. Considering the significance of the rally, his departure on Air Force One could have been delayed.
Peter Wibell Rutledge