Netanyahu even accommodated Biden by approving measures to bolster the Palestinian Authority—despite his government comprising hardliners like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. That step, too, was not reciprocated by the administration.
Even as Biden boycotts the Israeli prime minister and trashes him in interviews, he continues to meet with leaders whose lack of democratic bona fides is unequivocal. In other words, Biden’s cold shoulder to Netanyahu is no longer based on actual policy differences.
Perhaps it stems from a more emotional source, or perhaps from political motives. Biden needs the big Jewish Democratic donors, who dislike the Israeli leader and have been very attuned to the protest leaders in Israel. Herzog’s above-the-fray role should be used to put an end to this ugly game.
Netanyahu is the prime minister of Israel. He was elected in a democratic election and stands at the helm of a country that Biden claims to have been committed to for 40 years. Herzog should tell Biden that if he is, as he likes to describe himself, a “Zionist president,” he should know that refusing to invite Netanyahu to the White House hurts Zionism because the prime minister—whether he likes it or not— currently stands at the helm of the Zionist enterprise.
Herzog must also make it clear that the boycott is not only an affront to Netanyahu but also to the millions of Israelis who voted for him and feel he represents them. In fact, by not extending an invitation, Biden is hurting Israel and undermining its security, because when Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah brandishes his weapons and Hamas rears its head, they do so because they are seeing an erosion of U.S. support for the Jewish state.
In other words, during their tête-à-tête—or perhaps even in a larger forum—the Israeli president must tell his U.S. counterpart that his approach hurts Israel. Changing Biden’s posture should be Herzog’s overarching mission as he embarks on his Washington tour.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.