US patience runs out with Israel

The acrimonious US relationship with Israel [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. The US set a limit with Israel. Its abstention yesterday waved through a United Nations Security Council resolution [calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza](. The US had blocked three of these before — including one that openly condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel — and determined not to again. While the showdown took place in the kind of slow-motion style typically attributed to the international body, it’s significant. WATCH: The Israeli government called off a US trip by senior officials after the vote. Source: Bloomberg Since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, Israeli officials have repeatedly accused the UN of being anti-Semitic and have relied heavily on their closest ally: The US deployed its veto power more than 40 times to shield Israel. The one exception came in 2016, when it abstained on a resolution condemning Israeli settlements on the West Bank. When Hamas massacred about 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages, President Joe Biden immediately flew to Jerusalem to embrace Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But since the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 30,000 people and brought parts of the territory to the brink of famine, acrimony between the two men has grown. Netanyahu has been running circles around US leaders for decades. There is a famous expletive-ridden line attributed to Bill Clinton in 1996 after his first meeting with Netanyahu: “Who’s the f--king superpower here?” At home, Netanyahu has lurched to the far right for his political survival. For Biden, the tragedy in Gaza is threatening his reelection bid, hurting his ability to win in key swing states, such as Michigan, with its large Arab-American population. It’s also shattered the US vision of a two-state solution, with Israel living in peace with its neighbors. The latest dispute is over Rafah, the southern Gazan town Israel says it [must invade to finish off Hamas](. Washington says the [civilian toll would be unacceptable.]( It all raises the question of who is the boss. Yesterday, the US decided to draw a line. —[Flavia Krause-Jackson]( Children wait for meals in Rafah on March 16. Photographer: Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images Global Must Reads Biden has finally received some good news on the election front. Following his stepped-up campaigning and his State of the Union address, the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll has the president [gaining ground]( against Republican candidate Donald Trump in six of the seven swing states that will be key to winning the White House in November. Western publics may have assumed Islamic State was yesterday’s problem after the US and its allies smashed the group’s attempt to establish a Middle East caliphate. Now, the violent Islamist organization looks to be mutating into a [pernicious new threat]( after it claimed responsibility for Friday’s deadly attack in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to try [to divert]( public attention toward Ukraine. Elon Musk’s high-speed satellite internet service, delivered in an easy-to-use, portable package, is such an effective communications tool that it’s become a target for black-market trade worldwide. Kits made by SpaceX’s Starlink [are being smuggled into territories]( where it has no agreement to operate, including countries ruled by repressive regimes and some subject to international sanctions, raising questions over the company’s control of a system with clear national security dimensions. A man films Houthi followers in the Yemeni capital Sana’a during a protest against the Israel-Hamas war and the US-led attacks on Yemen. Photographer: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images Senegal’s incoming president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, pledged to tackle corruption, maintain friendly relations with partners and use the West African nation’s resources to improve living conditions. Investors had been nervous about Faye winning the election because of concerns he’ll [change policies]( implemented by Macky Sall’s government that generated average economic growth of more than 5% and brought it to the cusp of becoming an oil producer. Police in Delhi increased security around Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence and detained protesters after an opposition group [called for demonstrations outside his home]( today following the arrest of their leader last week. The unrest is a reaction to the federal anti-money laundering investigative agency arresting Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party on March 21 in relation to a bribery case. French President Emmanuel Macron begins a three-day trip to Brazil today as part of his [troubled strategy to build bridges]( between developed nations and the so-called Global South. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress lost a bid to have the new party endorsed by its former leader, Jacob Zuma, [removed from the ballot]( before elections in May. China has released a former member of the South Korean national men’s football team who had been [held in detention for nearly a year]( on allegations of taking bribes. Washington Dispatch Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign today in North Carolina, a battleground state that’s long been the object of Democratic yearnings, though Barack Obama, in 2008, was the last party candidate to win it. The prize remains elusive in the 2024 race, at least so far. Trump leads in polls and Republicans dominate both houses of the legislature as well as the state’s congressional delegation. But the governor, Roy Cooper, is a Democrat. In a speech at the Toner Prizes dinner in Washington last night, Cooper pointed out that his victories in 2016 and 2020 occurred as Trump won North Carolina’s electoral votes. He joked that if he had a “recipe” for those successes, he’d be “bottling it and giving it to every Democrat in the swing states.” He cannot run again this year because of term limits, and the contest to replace him could motivate voters of both parties. Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, a Republican backed by Trump, is a polarizing figure with a history of provocative remarks. He’s running against Josh Stein, the Democratic attorney general. Cooper plans to appear with Biden today. Asked if the president could win his state, he said: “Of course he can!” One thing to watch today: The Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether to reduce access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion drug. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day The progressive rallying cry of “tax the rich” has morphed into a popular policy stance with voters in the key states that will decide the US election, enjoying support even among those who prefer Trump, a billionaire, according to the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. Fully 69% of registered voters in seven swing states say they [favor higher taxes on billionaires]( and on people who make more than $400,000 a year, a potential boon to Biden’s economic agenda if he wins a second term. And Finally When Glen Kelp visited a startup fair in Estonia to scout for support for his new company, he walked past an unexpected booth — [from NATO](. As Mark Bergen reports, Kelp’s firm joined 43 others in the inaugural batch of the Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, or DIANA, part of the military’s alliance’s experiment as a venture capitalist. While the Pentagon has launched similar programs, the €1 billion ($1.1 billion) fund to invest in tech, with money pooled from dozens of member countries, marks a first for Europe’s militaries. The DIANA project is backing 13 companies working on technology for energy grids. 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