Former US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that a Biden-era weapons embargo killed Israeli soldiers during the war in Gaza in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Nides called the allegation “plain wrong” and warned that politicizing US-Israel relations endangers Israel’s long-term security.
Netanyahu made the remarks on Tuesday during a press conference in Jerusalem, asserting that shortages in ammunition - stemming, he said, from an American embargo - had exacted a heavy toll on Israeli forces.
“We paid a very heavy price in the war,” Netanyahu said. “Part of it is that at a certain point, we simply didn’t have enough ammunition, and people fell, heroes fell. Part of the loss of ammunition was also a result of the embargo.”
Nides, who served as ambassador during Biden’s term, dismissed the claim outright. “There was no arms embargo,” Nides told the Post. “He knows that. And if it’s not true - and it’s not true - then he knows it’s not true.”
Nides: Biden's support for Israel post-October 7 was unprecedented
Nides pointed to what he described as unprecedented US support for Israel following Hamas’s October 7 attack, including Biden’s visit to Israel days after the assault, intelligence sharing, air defense assistance, and US backing during Iran’s direct attack on Israel.
“Who’s the president who showed up days after October 7 to embrace the country of Israel?” Nides asked.
“Who’s the president who defended Israel during the first Iran attack? Who’s the president who provided all the stuff they needed to defend themselves against Hamas?”
Claims suggesting otherwise were not only inaccurate but deeply offensive, Nides told the Post.
“The idea that somehow Joe Biden didn’t do everything he could to protect the state of Israel is not only insulting - it’s just plain wrong,” Nides said.
Nides acknowledged that the Biden administration had debated supplying 3,000-pound bombs in the context of potential operations in Rafah.
“Was there a debate? Yeah,” he said. “Why is that so terrible? Debate over a particular action Israel is taking does not mean abandoning Israel’s security.”
Nides emphasized that such disagreements never amounted to an embargo and did not undermine Israel’s overall military capabilities.
“At no point did the Biden administration do anything to not secure the state of Israel,” he said, citing continued support against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.
He also noted that Biden faced significant opposition within his own political base for his support of Israel, describing the former president as one of Israel’s staunchest allies.
“I don’t think there’s been a president of the United States who took more grief from his political base than Joe Biden did by supporting the state of Israel,” Nides said.
Beyond the immediate dispute, Nides expressed concern over Netanyahu’s statement and warned that framing Israel as a partisan issue in US politics posed a strategic risk.
“My anxiety here is that Israel has always been a bipartisan issue. It needs to stay a bipartisan issue for the sake of the security of the state of Israel,” he said.
Nides praised both Biden and US President Donald Trump for their records on Israel, arguing that sustained bipartisan backing in Washington was essential.
“Anytime we try to divide Israel as a partisan issue, it’s not good for the Israeli people,” he said. “And it’s certainly not good for those of us who are Zionists who care deeply about the security of the state of Israel.”