As Israel’s Gaza offensive has grown ever more deadly and destructive, President Joe Biden has equivocated: condemning the civilian death toll while simultaneously sending more arms to Israel. This position, though perhaps politically expedient at the outset of the conflict, has become untenable.

Now, as the war threatens to destabilize the entire region, Biden should take a more forceful stance, much as one of his predecessors did. In 1956, President Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower successfully defused the Suez Crisis, forcing Israel and its allies — as well as the president’s own political rivals — to back down. Eisenhower’s willingness to confront Israel offers a model, however imperfect, for today.

At the beginning of 1956, the Suez Canal remained in the hands of British and French interests, much as it had been for nearly a century. That summer, though, Egypt’s president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, seized control of this critical conduit, effectively cutting off the flow of Middle Eastern oil to Europe. The move also hit Israel, denying its ships passage through the canal.

Nasser’s act, the culmination of rising tensions between Egypt and European powers, set off a major crisis. Britain and France, eager to reclaim some of their former influence in the region, forged an alliance with Israel, which had already clashed with Egypt in 1948. Together the three nations crafted a plan dubbed “Operation Musketeer”: Israel would invade Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, as well as Gaza, which was then under Egyptian control. Britain and France would then land troops in the canal zone in a bid to overthrow Nasser.

News of the plan left Eisenhower aghast. Though the president counted all three countries as allies, he had cultivated relations with the newly independent Arab nations as well, in part to check Soviet influence in the region. Eisenhower, who had previously warned Britain against using force in the region, resolved to curb his Cold War allies if they proceeded with the plan.

This was not without risk: a direct confrontation with Britain, France, and Israel could backfire not just internally, but also closer to home. With the presidential election set to take place a week later, Eisenhower could ill afford to alienate pro-Israel voters in key states, particularly because his opponent, Adlai Stevenson, had tried to make Eisenhower’s foreign policy a campaign issue.

Israel and its allies undoubtedly expected that these considerations would sideline Eisenhower and proceeded with their plan. Israel moved first, invading Egypt on October 29. When Eisenhower pushed for a United Nations resolution calling for Israel to withdraw, Britain and France vetoed the measure — again, expecting that this would settle the issue.

It did not. Instead, Eisenhower delivered a national address on October 31 declaring that the U.S. would not countenance the invasion. “In all the recent troubles in the Middle East, there have indeed been injustices suffered by all nations involved,” Eisenhower said. “But I do not believe that another instrument of injustice — war — is the remedy for these wrongs.”

Eisenhower understood that eloquence alone wouldn’t force a withdrawal, particularly as Britain and France made it clear they would proceed with the plan. Ike now played hardball, informing the Brits through back channels that the U.S. would no longer help prop up the value of the pound sterling, which was already in freefall. The gambit worked: in the face of potential economic crisis, Britain had no choice but to back down and soon withdrew its troops. France followed suit, furious but unable to proceed without Britain by its side.

Israel, though, refused to withdraw. Eisenhower was not pleased. He turned again to diplomatic back channels, this time to threatening to support a UN resolution that would ban all public and private aid to Israel, including the tens of millions of dollars the nation received from the U.S. each year. At first, Israel refused to budge. But Eisenhower was unwavering — even as Democrats in Congress, led by future president Lyndon Baines Johnson, threatened to revolt.

As the year came to a close, Eisenhower combined the stick with a carrot: reassurances that the U.S. recognized Israel’s right to defend itself should Nasser take any measures to threaten the nation. By March of 1957, Israel bowed to reality and withdrew its forces, ceding control of the territory it had captured. Egypt reopened the canal the following month, and while tensions over free passage of cargo persisted, the Suez Crisis had come to an end.

What can Biden learn from this episode? While it’s tempting to suggest that he should simply emulate Eisenhower, the reality is more complicated. Egypt’s seizure of the Suez Canal wasn’t anywhere near as deadly or abhorrent as the attacks launched by Hamas. Moreover, Israel today is a far more powerful and established country than it was in 1956, and quite mindful of the fact that the U.S. failed to honor Eisenhower’s commitment a decade later, a betrayal that helped set the stage for the Six-Day War.

Still, Eisenhower’s bedrock belief — that the U.S. should put stabilizing the Middle East ahead of propping up its allies — remains relevant today. If Israel proceeds with an invasion of Rafah, it will unleash a refugee crisis that could rupture the tenuous peace Egypt and Israel currently enjoy. Eisenhower would not have let such a thing happen. Neither should Biden.

Biden may wish to reread what Eisenhower wrote in his diary at the height of the Suez Crisis, as the words are eerily prescient. The U.S., Ike concluded, “must be friends with both (Arab and Israeli) contestants in that region in order that we can bring them closer together. To take sides could do nothing but to destroy our influence in leading toward a peaceful settlement of one of the most explosive situations in the world today.”

Stephen Mihm, a professor of history at the University of Georgia, is coauthor of “Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance.”

Danny Martin was not ranked in the top 10 in the state for most of last season as a junior for Simley wrestling at 170 pounds.

He finished with a 29-22 record, and won a match in his individual state tournament bracket.

But Simley needed more Martin — literally — if the Spartans were to chase a sixth-straight Class 2A team state title.

“I told him, ‘You have to get big enough to wrestle at 189, because we don’t have another guy (at that weight),’” Simley coach Will Short recalled Wednesday. “ ‘And you have to be a force for us at 189.’ ”

Done, and done. Martin, a senior captain, bulked up and is now the sixth-ranked 189-pound wrestler in Class 2A, according to The Guillotine. He’s a 40-match winner this winter.

“It took a lot of time in the weight room, eating the right food, but also just trusting my coaches who were helping me along the way,” Martin said.

The right food?

“Sometimes it wasn’t as clean as I would’ve liked,” Martin said with a laugh. “I was just eating whatever I could. But especially in wrestling season … I was giving up unnecessary food that’s just bad for you. I’ve been trying to eat more clean, (and) I definitely have felt the results.”

Fellow senior captain Derrick Dahmen was slated to wrestle at 160 pounds this season. But Simley has lost three wrestlers this winter — JJ Salas, Amilio Salas and Derek Buck — to season-ending injuries.

To compensate for the major losses and fill up the reconfigured lineup, changes needed to be made. Simley had an adequate 160-pound reserve in Judah Heeg. It had no varsity-ready options at 145 pounds.

So Dahmen went down. And, after winning 24 matches a year ago, he’s a 30-match winner and individual state tournament qualifier this year at 145.

And therein lies the true magic of Simley wrestling.

Yes, the Spartans have stars in the lineup. Turner Ross (107 pounds), Austin Grzywinski (114) and Raymond (152) are all ranked No. 1 at their respective weight classes entering this week’s state tournament.

And Simley did receive an injection of talent when the Heeg family moved into the Twin Cities. Eighth-grader Justus Heeg is a rising star at 133 pounds. Judah, a sophomore, wasn’t expected to be a varsity contributor this year, but has grown into that role out of necessity.

But the program sustainability is born out of the development of others. You don’t compete for a sixth-straight state title — which would be a new program record — without a complete lineup.

Simley (20-1) is the top seed in the Class 2A team tournament, which will play out throughout the day Thursday in St. Paul, starting with a quarterfinal match against Little Falls (19-4), and potentially ending with a state title match at 7 p.m., where Kasson-Mantorville or Totino-Grace likely will be waiting.

Which maybe isn’t something Short would have forecasted a year ago. Because this Simley team isn’t as flush with top-tier talent throughout the lineup. The Spartans of recent years won every match because they were far superior to their opponent.

This year’s team is proving it can be just as successful through different avenues.

Guys are moving around weight classes and raising their games from good to great. Others are performing admirably to simply give Simley a shot at certain weight classes — as Parker Davis and Brandon Kropuenske have done at the heaviest weights.

“The fact that we’re competitive, that we can compete at those weights, wasn’t something that we were sure we could do on a regular basis,” Short said. “We thought we were going to take a long year. But we’ve done a pretty good job at developing guys, and that’s the key.”

That’s how you compete for state titles every year and sustain for the long haul. Simley has been a top-10 team throughout the entirety of the past four decades. Short is committed to maintaining the Inver Grove Heights school’s standard.

Simley currently has 65 kids in its elementary school wrestling program, 30 at the middle school level and 55 in high school.

Those 55 high school wrestlers consist of the varsity and the junior varsity. Short and his coaching staff are constantly making sure the JV kids are getting ample time around the varsity wrestlers so they can see the level of work required to maintain a certain level of excellence.

“Everybody around you is doing the right thing,” Martin said. “If you’re slacking off, it’s really obvious to everyone around you. The coaches will call you out on it, and not only that, some of the guys will be like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to pick it up.’ ”

Short noted for those who are willing to enter that room and go about things in the proper manner, “there is a map and a pathway” for athletes to reach the highest level.

“I think right now, it’s a strong program,” Short said. “And when you have a strong program, you can turn out another set of guys.”

Could Simley win another state title this year? Absolutely. Is that a foregone conclusion? No. It was in past years, but because the talent gap simply doesn’t exist, anything could happen Thursday at Xcel Energy Center. Short loves that. He’s the ultimate fan of the state tournament, but noted it’s an earned experience.

His athletes have done it the hard way. There was a point after all of the injuries that Short could feel his team — and, frankly, even himself — thinking that a sixth-straight title may not be in the cards. That was right around the team’s lone dual-match loss to Mounds View in late January.

“We kind of just sat down and we just made a decision that we were going to commit to taking the guys we’ve got and still achieving our goals,” Martin said. “Just because we lost a few key guys doesn’t take away from anything we have.”

Ever since then, it’s been onward and upward for the Spartans. Short describes this group with a palpable excitement in his voice. He’s giddy about the progress and sacrifice each individual has made for the betterment of the collective.

“We’ve just had a lot of guys step up and make major improvements. I’m really proud of this team. I’m more proud of these guys than I ever have been,” Short said. “This group of guys has really impressed me this year about who they are as people. How Derek and Danny have said, ‘We’re going to be in this, we’re not giving up and we’re going to go try to win a state tournament.’ They’re focused and committed.”

For the first time in awhile, Short said the Spartans have a chip on their shoulders. They’re entering Thursday ready to wrestle, knowing they’ve given themselves the best possible chance to succeed.

“We’ve got no regrets at Simley right now. No one is going to be sitting on the bench going, ‘I wish I’d done this.’ These guys have given everything they’ve got. They’re truly committed to try and win, and they’re going to go put it on the line against every team,” Short said. “They have a little bit of swagger right now and a little bit of a chip on their shoulder like, ‘Hey, you think we’re done? Well, we’re not done.’ ”

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