This could be President Biden’s RFK moment – Mondoweiss

It has been 56 years since Robert F. Kennedy made a historic trip to South Africa, culminating in his Day of Affirmation Address, which came to be known as the ‘Ripple of Hope’ speech. The apartheid government would not officially welcome the junior Senator from New York and both Democratic and Republican parties in Congress still fully supported the US diplomatic and business relationship with the government of South Africa. It was a major political risk for RFK, even if, in hindsight, the visit was not only moral and courageous, but transformative. 

Without saying the ‘a-word’ on that trip, Robert Kennedy made clear his position and the intent of the visit. In his speech, hosted by and delivered to the National Union of South African Students, which was a leading anti-apartheid organization, Kennedy reflected on the parallels between what he was seeing in South Africa and his own country:

“I come here this evening because of my deep interest and affection for a land settled by the Dutch in the mid-seventeenth century, then taken over by the British, and at last independent; a land in which the native inhabitants were at first subdued, but relations with whom remain a problem to this day; a land which defined itself on a hostile frontier; a land which has tamed rich natural resources through the energetic application of modern technology; a land which was once the importer of slaves, and now must struggle to wipe out the last traces of that former bondage. I refer, of course, to the United States of America.”

It would be almost unimaginable in 2022 for an American political figure of any status, never mind that of a Kennedy, to describe the United States in such terms. Even rarer, recognizing the bond between those struggles, ideals, and values that embodied his political spirit at home and the great moral struggle in South Africa, he then delivered his most famous lines:

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice. He sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest wall of oppression and resistance.”

On his return to the United States, RFK openly condemned apartheid in Look Magazine, the first time a national politician had done so in the media.

President Joe Biden, as a recipient of the Ripple of Hope Award from the foundation established in RFK’s memory, is surely aware of that history. In accepting the Ripple of Hope Award, Mr. Biden offered memories of the connections between his family and the Kennedys, and quoted his mother, “Bravery lives in every heart and one day it will be summoned.” Of course, hope and bravery are two of the core elements of President Biden’s long political career, which was inspired, at least in part by Robert and his brother, President John F. Kennedy.

In 1966, as Robert Kennedy was met by throngs of black South Africans in Soweto, Mr. Biden was a law school student at Syracuse University. He undoubtedly saw those images, heard Kennedy’s speech, and read the coverage of the trip. Surely, that must have left an impression.

Hope and bravery are bisected by risk. For RFK, the political risks of going to South Africa, of visiting Soweto, and of bucking the political winds at home—as he was on the cusp of a presidential campaign—were immense. It is difficult to argue that there was much for him to gain politically by making the trip. And yet, he did, helping to change the political landscape in the U.S. on South Africa, and ultimately leading to concrete American action to end apartheid.

If there was social media in 1966, the images and videos coming across our screens from South Africa would look very much like those we witness from Israel and Palestine most days of the week. The political establishment in the United States may have a public knee-jerk reaction against any mention of Palestine and South Africa together, but times—and the world—are changing. President Biden’s image of Israel may have been born of his experience as a young politician in the aftermath of the 1967 war, but that image was always distorted in too many ways to explain here. 

President Biden’s great moral challenge now is not amending historical narratives, it is recognizing where we are now, taking risks on the paths of bravery and hope, and like Robert Kennedy, daring to pave a new approach to Israel-Palestine with the foundational values that animate his political vision for the United States.

The current situation is that the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is dead. The current, former, and likely future leaders of Israel have staked their entire careers on ensuring that outcome. The peace camp of Israeli politicians whose existence allowed generations of American leaders to reconcile their values with reality on the ground have also all-but disappeared. The settlement movement, created by the state, has effectively become the State of Israel.

As Brigadier General Roi Zweig, the Israeli military commander of the northern West Bank, said in a speech last week, “the army and the settlements are one and the same.” Without the ability to distinguish Israel and the settlements and occupation, and without a prospect for changing that reality, we are left with what has been thoroughly documented as a system of apartheid against Palestinians. If Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are too radical, decades of human rights reports from the U.S. State Department document the same reality.

A major part of President Biden’s charm, political style and approach to political problems is to mix nostalgia with an offer of hope for a better future. Nostalgia certainly helps soothe those who must confront a changed reality in their lifetimes. But nostalgia is also a dangerous and powerful weapon. 

President Biden’s upcoming trip to Israel is a moment when nostalgia must take a back seat to bravery. This can be President Biden’s Ripple of Hope moment. This visit must serve as a spark for a change in the United States’ approach to the very real occupation, apartheid, and persecution against the Palestinian people. This is not the time for calling a summit or dragging Israel to negotiation. It is about changing the very core of the political discourse and charting a new political vision rooted in fundamental human rights and freedoms, principles the Biden administration has already outlined as the heart of its foreign policy.

President Biden, bring with you to Israel the bust of Robert Kennedy you received when you were given the Ripple of Hope award. When you arrive in Jerusalem, bring it with you to Sheikh Jarrah and dare to see with your own eyes what ongoing ethnic cleansing looks like. Bring it as motivation and courage and visit the people living in the Jenin Refugee Camp where Shirin Abu Akleh was murdered. Insist on bringing it to Gaza and experience a few hours in the world’s largest open-air prison. Carry it to remind yourself of RFK’s spirit and leadership as you walk through the ghost town of Hebron, where Israeli apartheid is its most undeniable and devastating to witness.

Mr. Biden, witness the reality of Israel and Palestine as it is, as it is experienced by Palestinians, and adjust accordingly. Robert F. Kennedy knew that he had to go to Soweto to understand, to learn, to report and to do better. He challenged the political zeitgeist in the United States to fulfill his mission to South Africa and to meet his moral responsibility.

Mr. Biden, make this your ripple of hope moment.