Ex-Israeli ambassador: Campus antisemitism is part of an Islamist agenda

Danny Ayalon, former Deputy Foreign Minister and Israeli Ambassador to Washington, called the recent pro-Palestinian protests on campuses "an Islamist agenda that did not start today."

Ayalon stated, "They have already influenced the public opinion in Europe in their favor and are trying to replicate the process in the US. From this perspective, they are succeeding, and they are, in fact, trying to influence not only Biden and the government but also members of Congress. Currently, Trump is leading in at least five states. Everything is subject to the American electoral system."

Ayalon continued, "There are two axes through which Americans have been operating from the beginning of the war until today: the strategic axis, strong support for Israel, Israel's strength is a clear American interest, and not to expand the war, and on the other hand, Biden's political interest. He wants quiet; he wants stability. He would, of course, prefer to see a breakthrough. If he could run these elections on an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, that would be his dream. It is not beneficial for Biden to encourage escalation of the fighting."

The American influence on the Israel-Hamas conflict

Ayalon also noted that "From all the conduct of Hamas, the IDF controls 90 percent of Gaza, and they are negotiating as if they hold the upper hand. They think they have the advantage and need to hold out as long as possible until the American elections."

"The prominent guiding line is the evident interests of Biden and the Democrats. There are about five key states where this conflict will be decided by the electoral system. In some states, like Michigan, there is a relatively large Arab Muslim concentration, and a small percentage one way or the other can shift the entire state from one side to the other. That's exactly Biden's dilemma," Ayalon concluded. 

Edited by Shani Romano for 103FM radio.