• Join Puck

    Directly Supporting Authors

    A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

    Personalized Subscriptions

    Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

    Stay in the Know

    Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.

  • What is puck? Newsletters Authors Podcasts Events Gift Puck Careers

Biden’s Gaza Dilemma

A candid, post-Michigan conversation with Mark Mellman, the prominent Democratic pollster and staunch pro-Israel advocate, about how Biden is navigating the party’s protest vote, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the media echo chamber, and whether the Gen Z backlash is for real.

joe biden
Biden had a full-blown political headache on his hands: A protest campaign against Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza, organized by progressives and leaders from Michigan’s sizable Arab and Muslim American communities. Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Peter Hamby
March 5, 2024

It would be a colossal understatement to say that the pro-Israel wing of the Democratic Party—which is to say, most establishment Democrats—watched the news coverage of last week’s Michigan primary with mere annoyance. President Joe Biden had a full-blown political headache on his hands: A protest campaign against Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza, organized by progressives and leaders from Michigan’s sizable Arab and Muslim American communities.