Biden stresses Democratic Party's support for Israel
21 May 2021
President Biden at a press conference on Friday evening pushed back on Republican claims that the Democratic Party is anti-Israel.
Why it matters: A number of Democratic lawmakers became frustrated with Biden this week for his behind-the-scenes approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the administration's sale of weapons to Israel. That's a sea change from a tradition of presidential prominence, as well as unquestioned congressional support for Israel.
- Some lawmakers said they thought the White House should be more publicly forceful in its efforts to de-escalate the crisis.
Driving the news: Biden said at a joint press conference Friday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday there needed to be an immediate ceasefire.
- "He never broke his word with me," Biden said of Netanyahu.
One day after the ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli police forcibly dispersed a protest at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, or Temple Mount, the site of last Monday's police raid that Hamas cited in launching its initial rocket attacks.
- Biden said he again made it clear to Netanyahu it is important to bring an end to the intercommunal violence in Jerusalem. "This has to stop," Biden stressed.
What he's saying: The president added he is committed to a two-state solution, which he called the only viable fix to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- "There is no shift in my commitment to the security of Israel," Biden said. "Period. No shift. Not at all."
- Of note: He added that, "Until the region says unequivocally they acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as an independent Jewish state there will be no peace."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.