President Joe Biden declared that what is happening in Gaza is “not genocide” during a reception in the White House Rose Garden on Monday to mark Jewish American Heritage Month.

The event comes at a time in which the United States’ relationship with Israel has been in the spotlight amid the country's war with Hamas in Gaza. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden declared that what is happening in Gaza is “not genocide” during a reception in the White House Rose Garden on Monday to mark Jewish American Heritage Month
  • Biden also used the reception to condemn the move by the the International Criminal Court on Monday to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war
  • It comes amid heightened focus on Biden’s relationship with Israel and Netanyahu amid the war in Gaza and particularly over a potential major Israeli ground operation in Rafah – a move the White House has been clear it does not support without a plan to protect civilians
  • The president has faced pressure internationally and from some at home over his continued support of Israel as the Palestinian civilian death toll has risen and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened while Republican have accused him of abandoning Israel 

Biden used the reception to condemn the move by the the International Criminal Court on Monday to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war. 

“Let me be clear, we reject the ICC’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders,” Biden said on Monday. “Whatever these warrants may imply, there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”

“Contrary to allegations against Israel ... what is happening is not genocide,” Biden continued. “We reject that.” 

The commander in chief went on to reiterate the United States' “ironclad” commitment to the security of Israel. He added it is “clear” that Israel wants to “do all it can” to ensure the protection of civilians, even as the country appears to escalate its actions in Rafah – the southern Gaza city where more than one million Palestinians are seeking shelter. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff also attended Monday’s event. Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of any president or vice president in history, used his remarks ahead of the president to speak about an “epidemic of hate, including a crisis of antisemitism.”

“I know it's difficult to have hope and to feel optimistic right now,” Emhoff said. “To be honest, some days, it's really challenging for me to put myself out here and do this work publicly and I know it's hard for you too.” 

“But we keep fighting because we have no choice but to fight,” he continued. 

It comes amid heightened focus on Biden’s relationship with Israel and Netanyahu amid the war in Gaza and particularly over a potential major Israeli ground operation in Rafah – a move the White House has been clear it does not support without a plan to protect civilians. Israel has pledged such a move is necessary to defeat Hamas and that it will proceed despite U.S. opposition. 

The president has faced pressure internationally and from some at home over his continued support of Israel as the Palestinian civilian death toll has risen and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened. Protests over Biden and Israel’s handling of the war have overtaken college campuses around the country in recent weeks. 

While delivering the commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday, Biden told graduates, some of whom wore scarves in support of the Palestinian people, that he heard them. 

“I support peaceful, nonviolent protest,” Biden said. “ Your voices should be heard, and I promise you I hear them.”

“This is one of the hardest, most complicated problems in the world,” the president said about the conflict. “And there’s nothing easy about it.  I know it angered and frustrates many of you, including my family.”

Recently, however, Republicans have accused Biden of abandoning Israel after his administration paused a shipment of bombs to the country over concerns about an attack on Rafah. The president also told CNN that the U.S. would halt future shipments of weapons to Israel that could be used in a major ground offensive in the city. 

In a speech marking the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance earlier this month, Biden, denounced a "ferocious" rise in antisemitism across the country and around the world. He warned the world to not forget that Hamas sparked the war when it killed about 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7. 

Other guests at Monday’s reception included the president’s son Hunter Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla. and Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., among others. Biden noted Senate Majority Leader and the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in America, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. was also set to attend. 

Spectrum News' Justin Tasolides contributed to this report.