President Joe Biden is calling for a “pause” in Israel’s war with Hamas.
During an event on Wednesday, a woman who identified herself as a rabbi stood up and said, “I need you to call for a cease-fire right now.”
The president responded, “I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out.”
He went on to appear to claim credit for Israel holding off its operations in Gaza for several weeks as he said, “I’m the guy that convinced Bibi to call for a cease-fire to let the prisoners out.”
The exchange comes as Israel has been conducting ground operations in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre which left over 1,400 people dead.
Meanwhile, over 200 people were taken hostage.
Biden’s call for a “pause” was met with criticism.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “He knows a ‘humanitarian pause’ would be a gift to Hamas. This is Biden’s pathetic attempt to appease the anti-Semites in his base.”
Conservative commentator David Marcus wrote, “Biden’s actions the past few days, the ridiculous strategy to combat Islamophobia, and his weak statement about a ‘pause’ in fighting convince me his campaign is terrified of what supporting Israel will do to his coalition of voters.”
National Review’s Noah Rothman posted, “Wow. Five days into Israeli ground operations, Biden caves to the ceasefire squad. Some resolve.”
Progressive Democrats have been calling for a ceasefire in the conflict for weeks.