Finally headed to Washington, Netanyahu is flying into a political tempest
With Biden dropping his reelection bid and Trump riding high after being shot, the PM has to walk a fine line in the US even as threats from the Iranian axis grow
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
For a brief moment a few weeks ago, it appeared that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had finally overcome the major obstacles that stood in the way of his long-sought-after trip to Washington.
An invitation to speak to a joint session of Congress — first proposed by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson — had been held up for weeks but now Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had relented. Congressional leaders from both parties had sent Netanyahu the invitation, a crucial show of wartime support.
Netanyahu had also finally scored his presidential meeting at the White House, something President Joe Biden had been loath to arrange since the premier came back to power, with his hard-right coalition, in late 2022.
Yet more unforeseen challenges kept cropping up — minor and less so.
The Prime Minister’s Office discovered that the new Wing of Zion plane, which was set to convey Netanyahu to Washington on its maiden voyage, could only carry 60 passengers. “Israel’s Air Force One” had to make its inaugural flight days ahead of the actual visit, an advance run taking some staff and equipment, so that Netanyahu, his staff, security guards, journalists, and freed hostages, would all be able to make the trip on the plane’s second flight. (A small crack was also discovered in the plane’s windshield while it was on the tarmac in Washington, though that was easily repaired.)
Then a virus that had fallen out of public consciousness returned to make headlines. Biden contracted COVID-19, and though his symptoms were said to be light, Netanyahu’s trip and White House meeting were both pushed off by a day.
Yet all these material and logistical challenges are marginal compared to the political welter that Netanyahu is flying into as he finally heads to DC on Monday.
Chaos and opportunity
It had been uncertain for weeks that Biden would be on his party’s ballot in November. He was already trailing in key states before his disastrous debate performance on June 27, and pressure was growing steadily within the party for him to step aside over questions of competence tied to his advanced age.
With over 30 congressional Democrats publicly calling for Biden to quit the race, and the party’s elder statesmen — Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, and Barack Obama — reportedly trying to nudge him out as well, Biden finally cracked. Isolated in his beach home over a hundred miles from Washington, the president bowed out on Sunday, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
This US election — which was to have unprecedentedly featured the first-ever rematch between presidential candidates — had already strayed into inconceivable territory when GOP challenger Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt while speaking in Pennsylvania.
In some ways, the political chaos in Washington could prove a blessing for Netanyahu.
First, it would appear to make it less likely that dozens of Democratic lawmakers will make a show of boycotting Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday. With the party on its heels after Biden’s widely expected but still shocking announcement, and intensely concerned over losing not only the White House but also the Senate, Democratic leaders will want to avoid giving Republicans another avenue of attack while they already smell blood in the water. Moreover, Democrats don’t stand to gain from an intraparty squabble over Israel while they try to unite behind Harris and discourage any challengers from throwing hats in the ring. They have a variety of carrots and sticks to ensure that fewer members boycott the speech, and are likely to use them.
In his public appearance with Netanyahu, still set to go ahead as of this writing, Biden is also less likely to focus on points of disagreement with Israel. He now has half a year to cement his legacy, and would like to get a deal for the release of the hostages held by Hamas wrapped up while confidently asserting that he meaningfully contributed to Israel’s long-term security.
Netanyahu’s expected meeting with Harris, meanwhile, will now be held under massive scrutiny. It will give her the chance to show what path she wants to forge in relations with Israel. It also offers her a high-profile opportunity to burnish a presidential image in the minds of the public as she meets with one of the world’s best-known leaders. “It’s a very good opportunity for her,” said Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington.
Throughout the war in Gaza sparked by Hamas’s October 7 invasion and slaughter in southern Israel, Harris has been tasked with expressing views on Israel more in line with progressives. Yet there’s plenty in her past to indicate that Harris — who had what was described by attendees as quite a positive meeting with Netanyahu in Israel as a senator in 2017 — is not instinctively critical of Israel.
If she does become the Democratic candidate, Harris could well pick a running mate from the stable of pro-Israel Democratic governors, including Jewish day school graduate Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
The prime minister’s speech, of course, will also be extremely closely watched.
If Netanyahu wants the headlines to focus on substantive content, at a moment of immense challenge for Israel, he will have to ensure that there is no perceived criticism of the Biden administration. “He should say thank you to Biden, and avoid criticism,” advised Oren. “He has to lay out Israel’s reality to the world.”
That is already the message coming out of Israel. Now that Biden is indisputably in his final months in office, it is easier to focus on the years of support, and the president’s proud declarations that he is a Zionist at a time when parts of his party use that word as a slur.
Beyond thanking Biden, Netanyahu has the opportunity to powerfully set out the key points he has been stressing in official statements throughout the war – and especially that Israel’s fight against Hamas is actually the front line of the growing war between the liberal West and the Iran-Russia axis; that Iran is behind violence from Bucha to Be’eri; and that the West must prepare a credible military threat against Iran’s growing nuclear program.
Throughout his visit, the Israeli prime minister can expect demonstrations. Anti-Netanyahu Jews and Israelis are organizing rallies, as are those critical of his management of hostage talks.
His visit will also be an opportunity for anti-Israel groups to gather in force one more time before they descend on the Democratic National Convention on August 19.
None of that should worry Netanyahu too much. Standing up to the Israeli demonstrators will play well to his base back home, and making Israel’s case in the face of anti-Israel rallies and protests will be seen in a positive light by much of the Israeli public.
The Trump factor
And then there’s Trump. Netanyahu and the 45th president enjoyed a close and productive relationship during Trump’s term, but it fell apart since his defeat in 2020, in part because Netanyahu had the temerity to congratulate Biden on his election victory.
With Trump in attack mode, Netanyahu will have to make sure he doesn’t re-aggravate the former — and quite possibly future — president by seeming too effusive in his praise of Biden and Harris.
On the other hand, the premier has to take care not to be seen by Democrats as endorsing Trump. The two are expected to meet at some point in the trip, and Netanyahu has to give Trump enough to put that relationship on a new trajectory without alienating Harris or Congressional Democrats.
Finally, there is the actual substance of the trip. The meetings with Biden, Harris, and other top administration officials mark the best opportunity for all sides to come to agreements on the best way to push Hamas into a hostage deal, get Hezbollah to stop firing in the north, and chart a long-term plan to weaken Iran and its proxies.
All of those issues are complex and pressing. Politics in democratic countries is messy, and there will be plenty of political drama on this trip. But America and Israel will be well-served if Netanyahu and Biden put narrow concerns aside, and focus on the potent external challenges facing two deeply allied countries.
