US President Joe Biden is sending billions of dollars to support Israel's war on besieged Gaza, even as the destruction of Gaza and the genocide of Palestinians fuel growing protests on American college campuses, and a large American majority rejects the war waged by Israel and demands an immediate ceasefire. fire and stop military aid to Israel.

The new $26 billion aid to Israel, approved by Congress by an overwhelming majority and signed into law by Biden this week, comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and an imminent Israeli invasion of the southern city of Rafah, which is crowded with displaced people (1.4 million citizens), most of whom have taken refuge in the city according to the instructions of the Israeli  army. 

While Democrats have expressed growing concerns about the way Israel is carrying out its war on Gaza, they largely rallied behind President Biden to send more weapons when the bill passed through the House and Senate last week.

On this point, The Hill newspaper, which specializes in congressional affairs, attributes Khaled El-Gendy (of Egyptian origin), a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, as saying that the weapons provided to Israel are still considered “sacred” in Washington, before and after Iran launched about 300 A missile and a drone on April 13 hit Israel.

But Elgindy (per The Hill article) said the aid package highlights a “major gap” between Democrats in Congress and average voters, including those currently protesting at colleges across the country.

“Ultimately, this gap will have to narrow unless the party wants to remain permanently at odds with its voters, which I can't imagine they want to do,” he said. “Public opinion has shifted quite dramatically, especially among the left and among people who consider themselves democrats, to oppose arming Israel.”

“The overall trends in this case are that Democrats are gradually moving more and more toward conditionality on aid, even if this vote specifically does not reflect that,” he added.

This debate comes as universities across the United States are witnessing protests by pro-Palestinian students who are rallying against the war in Gaza and demanding that universities divest from Israeli companies or defense companies that supply weapons to Israel.

But in statements by Julie Reiman, managing director of policy and political affairs at the American Jewish Committee, one of whose most important arms is the Israel lobby in the states, which is consistent with a propaganda campaign to smear the protests carried out by the committee (along with other lobby fronts), she told the same newspaper that the protests are “emotionally motivated” and problematic. Because some chanted for the liberation of Palestine, “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free,” which could be interpreted (by Israel’s supporters) as a call to eliminate Israel as a state.

She said there is a disconnect between what some of these students are chanting and what lawmakers in Congress are calling for, such as alleviating the suffering in Gaza.

The spokeswoman for the Israeli lobby organization, Reiman, said: “What we are seeing now on university campuses is, frankly, and I think without a doubt, counterproductive.” “I'm not necessarily concerned that these protests are huge signals about how society views this” war, even though all opinion polls show that Americans by a majority want a ceasefire and an end to the flow of American weapons and ammunition to kill Palestinians.

Reiman believes that support for Israel is “overwhelmingly” strong in the corridors of the US Congress, which is currently being sustained through the collaboration of Israeli lobby organizations and the American extreme right, such as Christian missionaries.

It is noteworthy that the $26 billion package of American aid to Israel is allocated almost entirely for offensive weapons for Israel, with some minor funds for American forces in the Middle East.

Critics of the prevailing American policy towards Israel urged Biden to use American weapons as a means to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, where the Israeli occupation army killed more than 34,000 Palestinians during nearly seven months of war.

The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip began following an attack by Hamas fighters on the Gaza envelope area on October 7, which led to the killing of 1,100 Israelis, including 311 soldiers (according to official Israeli sources), and detained about 250 others. It is believed that about 100 detainees are still alive in Gaza, and negotiations are underway for their release In exchange for a ceasefire, but it has failed so far.

While Biden pushed for the release of the hostages and a temporary ceasefire agreement, and expressed his frustration with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, he continued to unconditionally send more weapons to Israel, “until Hamas is destroyed,” according to US administration spokesmen. The Israeli occupation forces are currently focusing their efforts to invade the city of Rafah, claiming that Rafah is the last stronghold of Hamas. The United States has said it will not support an invasion of the city unless there is a safe plan to evacuate civilians, but Israel has vowed to press ahead regardless of outside pressure.

“I want to make clear again that my commitment to Israel is ironclad,” Biden said after signing the additional $95 billion National Security Act into law on Wednesday, which also includes aid for Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific region.

He added, "Israel's security is crucial. I will always make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and the terrorists it supports."

Biden also stressed that the bill includes $1 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza, as the US military airdrops food and water and is nearing the finish line of building a port off the coast of the Strip to get more aid. This effort comes as Israel continues to restrict the passage of aid trucks through land crossings.

In turn, Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said that Biden maintains a disconnect between what he says and how he acts, as the president expresses concern about Israel’s actions in Gaza but still gives the green light for new weapons.

He said: “The picture is actually quite clear: What Biden is doing is increasing his rhetorical criticism of Israel, and when it comes to practical policy, the entire movement is moving towards continuing to support what Biden himself criticizes.”

Israel's supporters claim that the passage of US aid by the White House and Congress indicates relatively consistent support for ensuring Israel's safety against Iran, Hamas and other regional threats.

On Capitol Hill (the US Congress building), Democrats prepared to oppose aid to Israel remain a small minority, even as concerns mount about the humanitarian crisis. In the House of Representatives, which voted on separate aid packages for each country, the final result was 366 votes to 58, with only 37 Democrats opposed.

“Our votes against [Israeli aid] are votes against providing more offensive weapons that could lead to more civilian deaths in Rafah and elsewhere,” a joint statement from 19 Democrats who voted against the package said.

He added: "When faced with the question of whether to provide offensive aid to advance this conflict, we believe there is a moral imperative to find another path."

A growing number of Democrats have called for making weapons conditional on Israel after an Israeli raid that killed seven aid workers for the charity World Central Kitchen, which Israel attributed to a mistake but led to a severe backlash in Washington.

Some of those critical Democratic lawmakers voted in favor of the package last weekend.

Among them was Rep. Sarah Jacobs (D-Calif.), who said she still wanted to limit assault weapons to Israel but supported the aid package because it contained humanitarian aid for Gaza and other conflict-stricken places.

“While I am deeply concerned about further military aid to Israel, I cannot in good conscience vote against this life-saving humanitarian assistance at a time when millions of people around the world are suffering,” Jacobs said in a statement after the vote.

In the Senate, only a small group of Democrats are actively advocating for conditions on aid to Israel, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (R-Vermont), who tried and failed to pass an amendment to the bill that would restrict offensive military aid.

“It was not even possible to get this amendment to a vote,” Sanders said in his speech this week. “We can't even discuss this issue.”

However, university students are pushing the issue, with growing protest camps and pressure on university leadership.

House Republican leaders were mocked during a press conference this week at Columbia University, where the wave of demonstrations began. Some universities suppressed the demonstrators and arrested dozens of them.

Biden also condemned the student protesters as “anti-Semites.”

In turn, Parsi of the Quincy Institute said, referring to the protests on campus: “This has been a huge disaster for Biden.” “This is a key voting group.”

Parsi added that the protests could put more pressure on Democrats to act on Gaza, as they bring "a new level of energy" and "a whole new level of skepticism" about US policy toward Israel.