Netanyahu Witnesses His American Perks Inure to Herzog

Middle East observers are witnessing the continuation of a diplomatic chess game playing out between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden. The initial salvo was one of abstention rather than action when the American leader withheld what has become a barometer of the most important indices of international relations: the invitation to the White House. Adding to the already-plentiful pressure, President Biden made no attempt to hide his purposeful denial. But more recently the White House turned up the heat by not only inviting President Isaac Herzog to the Oval Office but throwing in meetings with just about anyone in his administration relative to the Middle East. And if those were not enough, Herzog will address a joint session of Congress—the ultra-perk presumably most coveted by the prime minister. Despite the theatrics at the top, the recent Israeli military operation demonstrated that the two nations’ level of cooperation in the defense sector remains unscathed.