Ex-Biden Official Admits Effort to Oust Netanyahu After Oct. 7

Ilan Goldenberg, a former aide to President Joe Biden, revealed to Israel’s Channel 13 that the Biden administration sought to remove Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu following the Oct. 7 massacre.

During the Channel 13 interview, Goldenberg discussed how Biden officials, now more willing to speak publicly compared to the Trump era due to fear of retaliation, are sharing details about internal deliberations.

Goldenberg, who headed Biden’s initiatives to sanction Israeli right-wing figures and later served as Jewish outreach director for Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, explained that the White House aimed to exploit Biden’s temporary surge in Israeli approval ratings alongside Netanyahu’s diminished standing after the attack. The administration especially intensified its efforts after an early hostage release arrangement collapsed.

Goldenberg indicated that the Biden team was open to both democratic and non-democratic strategies to unseat Netanyahu, stating: “There were a lot of people who were talking about, including in the Oval Office, at times, the idea of, like, the president going out and giving a speech. … [Opposition leader] Benny Gantz was at 37 [seats] and Bibi was at like 15 [in polls], right? Like, he was very weak. Joe Biden was still incredibly popular in Israel.

You can end the war, get all the hostages out, get a, get a deal that includes even, you know, maybe even trying to have elements of Hamas to leave — or you keep doing what you’re doing, and Israel’s in a forever war, you know, your sons and daughters are going to keep fighting, most of the hostages are going to come home dead. … The idea would be to either force Netanyahu to come on board with that, or scramble Israeli politics, and see if you can trigger elections, or G-d knows what. That’s what people were saying — like, let’s just break this up ’cause it’s not going anywhere good.”

As reported by Breitbart News, Goldenberg’s account aligns with past developments. In March of last year, President Biden publicly supported Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) unusual demand for new elections in Israel aimed at removing Netanyahu.

Breitbart noted that throughout this period, Hamas persistently rejected negotiation offers and never provided assurances that all Israeli hostages would be freed, casting doubt on whether the outcome envisioned by Biden’s team was ever realistically achievable.