Gallant meets US officials in NYC after Netanyahu said to bar talks in Washington
Defense minister speaks with State Department’s Barbara Leaf, White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield during muted trip to US
Luke Tress is a JTA reporter and a former editor and reporter in New York for The Times of Israel.
NEW YORK — Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with representatives of the Biden administration in New York City on Tuesday during a low-key trip to the United States.
Gallant met with US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf and was scheduled to meet with National Security Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, the Defense Ministry said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely understood to be barring ministers from high-level meetings in Washington, DC, as the premier waits on a meeting with US President Joe Biden.
Leaf and McGurk’s decision to meet with Gallant in New York came after reports the Biden administration is concerned that damage to Israel’s military readiness caused by reservists protesting the government’s judicial overhaul could also harm US-Israel security cooperation.
Gallant’s office did not announce any further plans to meet with US officials — including defense leaders — or plans to travel to Washington. Gallant has previously met with US defense officials in Israel and in Brussels.
Gallant’s predecessor, Benny Gantz, while serving as defense minister met top US officials during trips to Washington, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Ties with the US have strained under Netanyahu’s hardline coalition due to its divisive judicial legislation, policies toward the Palestinians, inflammatory statements from far-right ministers and other incidents.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid will travel to Washington next week for high-level meetings with White House and State Department officials, in what will likely further highlight the divide between the US and Netanyahu’s coalition.
Netanyahu received an invitation from Biden to meet in the US during a July phone call, but it remains unclear whether the two will meet at the White House. Biden could meet Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in mid-September — a lower profile setting than the Oval Office photo op that the premier likely envisions as he seeks to restore his diplomatic bona fides, which have taken a hit due to his government’s hardline policies.
Gallant has not attended any public events since arriving in the US on Thursday, and none of his meetings have been open to the press.
On Monday, Gallant held a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at UN Headquarters to discuss Lebanon and its Hezbollah terror group ahead of a vote later this week on renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in the country. Earlier in the day, Guterres met with Lebanon’s foreign minister, Abdallah Bouhabib. The secretary-general’s office did not issue a readout on either meeting.
Also at the UN on Monday, Gallant met with US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield to discuss regional security, a spokesperson for the US mission said.
Thomas-Greenfield reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security and the two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict, and discussed with Gallant the need to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, the US mission said.
Earlier Tuesday, Gallant met with Defense Ministry officials stationed in New York and discussed their cooperation with the US Defense Department, his office said.
On Sunday, Gallant attended a fundraiser in Chicago for the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces, he said on Facebook. He also met with Israel’s consul general in the city, Yinam Cohen, along with the president of Chicago’s Jewish Federation, Lonnie Nasatir.
Gallant’s trip has also been marred by persistent protests by Israeli activists in the US who oppose the government’s judicial overhaul.
Several dozen protesters gathered outside Gallant’s hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday during his meeting with Leaf. Security stationed at the entrance were seen moving toward a side entrance, apparently to escort officials through another entryway, avoiding the demonstrators.
Before Gallant’s meetings were publicly announced, the activists obtained information about his schedule and groups of demonstrators gathered outside his official meetings at the UN, the Israeli consulate and his hotel.
Individual protesters also heckled Gallant inside the UN, in his hotel, and during a jog in Central Park, activists said.
