Biden calls for massive aid to Israel, Ukraine; denounces anti-semitism in US

WASHINGTON: United States President Joe Biden has called for a massive new aid package for Israel and Ukraine and at the same time, has strongly denounced a rise in anti-semitism and Islamophobia in the US.

Biden addressed the nation in prime time on Thursday (local time), fresh off a wartime visit to Israel.

Speaking from the Oval Office starting at 8 p.m.(local time), Biden made the case to Americans that it's vital to both global and US national security to assist Israel as it responds to terror attacks by Hamas as well as to continue help for Ukraine as it fends off Russian invaders.

"That's why tomorrow I'm going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America's national security needs - needs to support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine. It's a smart investment that's gonna pay dividends for American security for generations," Biden said.

"We must, without equivocation, denounce anti-semitism," Biden said.

"We must also without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia. To all of you hurting, those of you hurting, I want you to know: I see you. You belong. And I want to say this to you: You're all American. You're all American," Biden asserted.

Biden also linked the Israeli and Ukrainian war to American national security.

He said that support for both countries Israel as it fights terrorist group Hamas, and Ukraine as it battles Russia will be a "smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations, help us keep American troops out of harm's way, help us build a world that is safer, more peaceful, more prosperous for our children and grandchildren."

"Hamas and Putin, the two represent different threads but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighbouring democracy," Biden said, referring to the extremists and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Biden said he knows the conflicts can seem distant and Americans might be asking why it's vital to US security interests that Israel and Ukraine succeed.

"History has taught us that when terrorists don't pay a price for their terror, when dictators don't pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and debt and more destruction," Biden said.

"They keep going -- and the cost and the threats to America and the world keep rising," he said.

In Tel Aviv earlier this week, Biden pledged unwavering support to Israel but also successfully made the case to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

The national address comes as Biden's team prepares to send a large foreign aid package to Capitol Hill.

But the request will fall on a paralyzed Congress, with the House without a speaker since the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy more than two weeks ago. Republicans have, so far, been unable to come to a consensus on a successor, leaving the chamber in chaos.