US-Israel Bond Runs Deeper Than Any Disagreement, US Diplomats Say

The current and former US ambassadors to Israel both affirmed the strength of the US-Israel relationship, even as Biden has yet to invite Netanyahu to the White House

As reports of tension between the current Israeli government and the US administration persist, the current and former US ambassadors to the country reaffirmed the US’s bond with Israel, saying that the two countries are in “lockstep” on security issues.

Current US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides and his predecessor David Friedman participated in a panel about US-Israel relations during the Celebrate the Faces of Israel event on Thursday at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, organized by the museum together with The Jerusalem Post.

“We are the most important friend of Israel and Israel is the most important friend of the United States,” Nides said during the panel. “On the fundamental issues, which are security, that’s where we agree.”

Once privy to classified information, former Ambassador Friedman said that the security ties between the country are strong and that knowing them “would make everyone feel better” in light of reports of a rift between the allies.

“There is a deep intelligence and military connection, which is rock solid. There is a deep affection, respect, and trust between our two countries in terms of keeping each other safe,” Friedman said during the panel.

Israel is amid an internal political crisis relating to the future of the country’s judiciary. Several months ago, the government, led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, began legislating sweeping reforms meant to decrease the power of the Supreme Court. A widespread protest movement broke out in response to the proposed reforms, eventually leading Netanyahu to freeze the legislation in an attempt to reach a broader consensus.

Critics of the reforms, who often refer to them as a judicial coup, say that they will weaken Israel’s democracy by diminishing the independence of the courts. The current US administration has also hinted at concerns and has encouraged internal dialogue within Israel.

US President Joe Biden has yet to invite Netanyahu to the White House, despite the latter being sworn in almost six months ago. Israeli leaders usually enjoy an automatic invitation to Washington once instated.

Biden and Netanyahu also differ in their stances on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Biden is a strong supporter of a two-state solution, having described “both people enjoying equal measures of freedom and dignity” within their own states as the goal toward which the US is striving. Netanyahu, who heads the most right-wing government ever to hold power in Israel, will have difficulty finding common ground with the current US administration on the matter.

“Biden cares deeply about this relationship,” Nides said when asked about Netanyahu’s indefinitely delayed invite. “We can agree and disagree, but at the end of the day the support for Israel is rock solid.”

“The noise about the late invitation or perceived snub—that is just spin,” Friedman added. “There is nothing in the friction that arises from time to time that presents any real jeopardy to the relationship.”

Nides, a Democrat, and Friedman, a Republican, attested to disagreeing on a wide range of issues other than the importance of the US relationship with Israel.

Both ambassadors praised the Abraham Accords, a series of US-brokered agreements between Israel and four Arab nations. Signed during the administration of US President Donald Trump, the accords were seen as a departure from a decades-old Middle East paradigm. In the past, solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was seen as a prerequisite to normalization between Israel and Arab states.

“We’re not resolving the Palestinian conflict any time soon,” Friedman said. “Let’s work on the problems we can solve and not focus on those we cannot.” The statement echoed a sentiment expressed by Biden during his visit to Israel last summer.

“It was a game changer,” Nides said, giving credit to the Trump Administration for the accords. “The Biden Administration has to embrace it and develop and nurture it.”

The White House has said that it will attempt to expand the agreements.

Nides expressed hope that Israel would normalize its relations with Saudi Arabia, a goal that Netanyahu had also expressed during his last campaign. Establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would shake up the status quo in the Middle East, significantly changing the region’s balance of powers and weakening Iran’s influence.

The keynote speaker at the conference was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the White House in the coming weeks. In his remarks, he highlighted America’s strong bond with Israel and focused on Iran as Israel’s most significant threat.

“Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons creates a risk unlike any seen in the region,” DeSantis said. “This represents an existential threat to the state of Israel and represents a threat to the US.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who also spoke at the conference, laid the blame on Iran for a recent spike in violence towards Israel from Hamas in Gaza and Hizbullah in Lebanon.

“We have seen Iran and its proxies…misreading the vitality of our democratic discourse as an opening to cause destruction and violence,” the Israeli president said. Herzog is sponsoring talks between the government and the opposition in an attempt to find a compromise on the proposed judicial reforms.

He also said that he aims to create more diplomatic partners in the region, in the style of the Abraham Accords, in an attempt to counter Iran’s regional influence.

“The winds of peace blowing in our region have created the opportunity for Israel and its neighbors not only to cooperate but to transform the entire region into a global model of interfaith tolerance and dialogue,” Herzog added.

Given the White House’s dissatisfaction with Netanyahu, as well as developments like the establishment of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, such advances will likely be delayed. Whether Biden will want to help Netanyahu attain his goal of establishing more regional partners remains to be seen.

“Making sure the security of Israel is locked in with the Abraham Accords is something we are in total agreement of,” Nides said about both American parties.

Nides and Friedman both singled out Iran as a major threat to both Israel and the US. For Israel, which has been deeply troubled by the threat from Tehran in recent decades, the statements by both come as reassurance of American support during a challenging time.