Israeli President Visits US as Netanyahu Is Sidelined by the White House
As conflicts emerge over Prime Minister Netanyahu's judicial overhaul and West Bank settlement plans, US President Biden invites Israeli President Herzog to Washington, signaling American dissatisfaction with Netanyahu's government
US President Joe Biden is hosting his Israeli counterpart, President Isaac Herzog in Washington this week as tensions and disagreement in the two countries’ relations have mounted in recent months.
Relations have soured since the swearing-in of the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu late last year. Conflict between the two governments revolves around Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judicial system and Israel’s continued push to increase settlement construction in the West Bank.
Herzog is Israel’s figurehead president, but in a stark demonstration of American dissatisfaction with the Netanyahu government, he has been invited before Prime Minister Netanyahu as a guest of the White House.
Hours before Herzog departed for the US, Netanyahu and President Biden spoke over the phone. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s office, an invitation was extended to Netanyahu, without a set date. Israeli leaders usually enjoy an automatic invitation to Washington once instated.
There is a crisis, but there needs to be a distinction between the security and intelligence cooperation that continues with great intimacy, and the strategic political level where we see many difficulties
“There is a crisis, but there needs to be a distinction between the security and intelligence cooperation that continues with great intimacy, and the strategic political level where we see many difficulties,” said Dr. Shay Har-Zvi, a senior researcher at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University.
“The most tangible expression of this crisis is the lack of invitation to Netanyahu—this is not just something symbolic, this is a serious problem,” he continued.
Netanyahu leads a coalition of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties and has been promoting judicial reform, saying it is needed to rein in the power of the courts and their unelected judges. Opponents say the plan will destroy Israel’s fragile democracy in which the courts are the only check on the executive and legislature, moving the country toward authoritarian rule. On Tuesday, ahead of legislation on one of the main components of the reform, thousands of Israelis demonstrated in the streets and highways.
These protests have been ongoing since January when the government announced its plans to rapidly push multiple pieces of legislation through Knesset, Israel’s parliament. After weeks of demonstrations, Netanyahu announced he was freezing the legislation and entering talks to reach a compromise with the opposition. The talks were sponsored by Herzog, who has been appealing for compromise as it became evident how much the issue was tearing the country apart.
After weeks of negotiations, the coalition and the opposition failed to reach an agreement on the judge selection committee—one of the contentious components of the reform—and the talks collapsed. Netanyahu and his coalition then resumed the one-sided legislative push using their parliamentary majority, without seeking a broader consensus.
Throughout this period, the Biden Administration has made it clear that it was not happy with the direction the government was taking, calling consistently for a broad consensus within Israel.
When the Netanyahu government was first sworn in, the messages from the US were subtle. A series of meetings between high-level American and Israeli officials resulted in understated warnings. The US also had faith in Netanyahu himself, who assured the world that he was at the helm, and he would not let his coalition partners call the shots.
One of the main American concerns is the direction the government is taking regarding the conflict with the Palestinians.
“The gradual annexation of West Bank territories, the explicit policy to weaken the Palestinian Authority, and the soft-handed [approach] toward settler violence against Palestinians is seen as very problematic by the US administration,” Har-Zvi said.
In a recent interview with CNN, President Biden defined some of the members of Netanyahu’s government as “one of the most extremist members of cabinets that I’ve seen.”
President Biden was referring specifically to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both members of the ultra-right Religious Zionism party. Ben-Gvir has been convicted in Israel of racist incitement and was elected amongst other things for vowing an iron fist against Palestinians.
Smotrich has been granted authority over settlement policies as part of the coalition agreements. A settler himself, he has promised to double the settler population in the West Bank. The US sees the West Bank as part of a future Palestinian state, with Jewish settlements being a major impediment to that.
In its messaging, the White House has often highlighted the shared values between Israel and the US. The government policy on both the judicial reforms and the Palestinians creates a dent in Washington’s belief that the commonality still exists.
“All these [factors] could lead to the final burying of the two-state solution and lead to an escalation on the ground,” Har-Zvi told The Media Line.
Next week, the Knesset is expected to approve one of the main laws of the overhaul, a law that bars Israeli courts from using the “reasonability standard” in reviewing decisions made by the government, cabinet ministers, and other elected officials.
“The prime minister updated the president of the United States on the bill that is slated to be passed next week by the Knesset and on his intention to reach wide public support for the rest of the reform during the summer recess,” read the statement from Netanyahu’s office late Monday after the phone conversation with President Biden.
But when speaking to Israeli media, Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly said they intend to push forward with their plans without seeking a broader consensus than the parliamentary majority they already have.
“The US needs right now to clearly state that they object to the ‘reasonableness standard’ legislation without directly intervening with internal Israeli politics,” said Dr. Nimrod Goren, president and founder of Mitvim—The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies.
The snub from Washington has raised concern in Israel about the future of the relations between the two countries. Not inviting Netanyahu may have been President Biden’s way to portray his dismay and urge the Israeli premier to change course. But Netanyahu is not budging on the legislation and judging by his allies’ bravado, the legislation is expected to continue full steam ahead after the Knesset summer hiatus.
Netanyahu’s political persona is built on the importance he attaches to the US and to his ability to understand the American discourse and speak to them in their language and to secure support from Congress
“Netanyahu’s political persona is built on the importance he attaches to the US and to his ability to understand the American discourse and speak to them in their language and to secure support from Congress,” Goren said. “It is a central part of his worldview and this is very meaningful to him, but currently not enough to steer off the path of the judicial overhaul.”
During Herzog’s visit, he will address a special joint meeting of the houses of Congress marking Israel’s 75th year of independence. He will likely be given a warm welcome.
“The applause he will receive will be perceived as a silent jeer for what Netanyahu is doing, in a typical American understatement,” Goren told The Media Line.
Watching from Jerusalem, it is hard to see Netanyahu changing course on his domestic policy.
“The message that the Americans want to convey is that their problem is not with Israel, but with rather with the policy of the current leadership,” Har-Zvi explained. “Behind closed doors, [Netanyahu] will likely receive very clear messages on what the administration thinks. For now, Herzog is seen as the most senior Israeli figure that the US conducts a dialogue with.”
Caught between his coalition partners, whom he needs for his political survival, and his other aspirations, Netanyahu now appears willing to risk alienation from the White House.
During his election campaign, Netanyahu said his aim was normalizing Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia and promised to make sure Iran would not achieve nuclear capabilities. For both, he needs to US on his good side. Israel is also waiting to be included in the US visa waiver program that would allow Israelis to enter the US without a visa.
“There will be less and less motivation on the US’s part to promote things Israel is interested in,” Goren said. “When there is no goodwill and no feeling of partnership or shared values, the US government will not act in that direction.”
