Days of intense negotiations enabled the Biden administration to avoid casting a veto at the United Nations Security Council in defense of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
That isolation is a dramatic turnaround in international perceptions for the Biden administration: For most of the past two years, top U.S. officials led what they saw as a valiant crusade to rally the world against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Biden and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken were praised at home and abroad for uniting allies under the banner of American leadership as they invoked basic principles of international law and human rights.
Human rights groups — which for months applauded U.S. efforts to hold Russia accountable — now denounce the United States for supporting Israel, which many of them accuse of committing war crimes in Gaza.
Senior Biden officials who found a clear sense of purpose in the project of uniting Europe against Russia privately admit that the past weeks have been difficult as the U.S. supplies and defends an Israeli campaign that has led to so much suffering and global outrage.
Asked about American isolation on Wednesday, Mr. Blinken betrayed no concern, saying that the United States continues to “rally countries around the world” to support Ukraine, has cultivated partnerships to strengthen the U.S. position against China, and is leading global efforts on food insecurity, artificial intelligence and clean energy.
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