As Herzog flies to the US, he faces a national challenge – and personal opportunity

President Isaac Herzog will be taking off for Washington Monday night with much at stake in the US-Israel relationship and a challenging task representing Israel’s interests in the face of growing White House consternation over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

The Biden administration will use the visit to try and prove that it has no bone to pick with the State of Israel per se — though it remains fiercely opposed to the government in Jerusalem, its makeup, its deeply divisive judicial overhaul, and the actions it is taking in the West Bank at the encouragement of its extremist elements.

The Americans will shower Herzog with honors, eager to demonstrate that the Israeli head of state – who is also a Jewish figurehead – is welcome in Washington, even if Netanyahu is persona non grata in the Oval Office.

The White House said in a statement last week that Herzog’s visit “will highlight our enduring partnership and friendship” and that Biden will use the opportunity when they meet on Tuesday to “reaffirm the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israel’s security.” In contrast, Biden said last week that Netanyahu’s coalition has some “of the most extreme members” he’s seen in Israel.

Herzog will meet with US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and interagency officials during his two days in Washington, the White House said. He will also give an address to a joint session of Congress in honor of Israel’s 75th anniversary, before traveling to New York for two days of meetings there.

“We’re talking to people in the administration and we understand the mood. They cannot abide the presence of [Finance Minister] Bezalel Smotrich and [National Security Minister] Itamar Ben Gvir in this government, and certainly not statements like ‘the [Palestinian] village of Huwara needs to be wiped out,’” an Israeli diplomatic official told The Times of Israel Sunday, invoking roundly condemned comments made by Smotrich in March, for which he later apologized.

“They believe that these two are pulling Netanyahu’s strings,” the official added. “And then there’s the overhaul, which they’re also livid about.”

Herzog, for his part, will endeavor to advance Israel’s interests, including conveying Netanyahu’s messaging regarding the Iranian threat and the danger of reaching any kind of nuclear deal with Tehran.

He will also attempt to assuage the administration’s dismay over the judicial overhaul and explain that there is still a chance compromise talks will resume and bear fruit under the aegis of his office. The US has said it does not want to interfere in the specifics of judicial reform proposals, though it has insisted that fundamental changes only be passed with broad consensus and that Israel’s democratic institutions remain strong and independent.

Convincing the administration that a unilateral overhaul can still be averted will not be an easy task for Herzog. Overshadowing his visit will be the so-called “reasonableness” bill, which would strip the Supreme Court of one of its main yardsticks for reviewing government and ministerial policies and appointments. The government has been ramming the legislation through the Knesset and is on track to sign it into law next week.

The US administration on Tuesday urged Israeli authorities to “protect and respect the right of peaceful assembly” in a statement issued as police clashed with thousands of protesters across the country in demonstrations against the advancement of the reasonableness bill, the first piece of legislation aimed at overhauling the judiciary.

A diplomatic official claimed that the timbre of such statements was unprecedented.

“When has the administration ever called on a democratic country not to employ violence against protesters?” the official asked. “I don’t recall such statements even against the quelling of demonstrations in Chile or Nicaragua. In our case this is blatant interference, a step before concrete actions.”

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman penned an op-ed last week saying the administration has indeed begun “reassessing” its ties to the Netanyahu government. The White House sufficed with responding that it was not engaged in a “formal” reset, leaving open the possibility that it has started reviewing the relationship in an unofficial manner.

“We know the Americans well,” the diplomatic official acknowledged. “Biden is giving the impression that there is a reassessment of the relationship with Israel, and this trickles down into the system… It’s tough.”

A personal opportunity

For Herzog, alongside the challenges, the visit offers the chance to restore his prestige in Israel, which has eroded amid his repeated failed attempts to broker compromise on judicial reform this spring.

In the coming days, in meetings that will be televised back home, Herzog will assume the role — generally reserved for Netanyahu — of Israel’s face to the world. It is not a bad position to be in for someone who does not see his political career ending in 2028, when his presidential term is up.

A version of this piece first appeared in Hebrew on the Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister site, Zman Yisrael.