Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu capped a weeklong visit to the United States with a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago on Friday, after stops at the White House and Capitol, the twin seat of American power, and a salute to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Netanyahu intended his visit to the United States to be a victory march to demonstrate to his people, and especially his political base, that he still had the unconditional support of the United States.
What he got instead was a more mixed response that reflected domestic divisions and political uncertainty – and growing dissatisfaction even among some U.S. officials with the way Netanyahu has handled the Gaza war that is soon entering its 10th month.
U.S. officials said Prime Minister Netanyahu met privately with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday and heard his toughest talk yet about the urgent need to accept a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza.
On Wednesday, Trump became the first foreign leader to be given the honor of speaking to a joint session of Congress for the fourth time, in which he called for support for continuing the war. But compared with past visits, the reception was noticeably lukewarm. There was only a partial standing ovation. More than 50 Democratic lawmakers boycotted or stayed away, and Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) held up a sign that read “War Criminals” on one side and “Guilty of Genocide” on the other.
At Trump’s Florida resort, Netanyahu was interested in repairing the damage to their once-fawning relationship with Trump, who is hoping to become president again. As president, Trump has given Netanyahu everything he wanted. But after the Israeli leader acknowledged that Biden had defeated Trump in the 2020 election, Trump turned his back on Netanyahu.
A key goal for Netanyahu has been to win the support of Republicans, who he believes hold more influence and who he has long aligned more closely with than most previous Israeli leaders who have tried hard to avoid taking sides in the U.S. partisan battle.
Just a few weeks ago, Trump and the Republicans looked to have the upper hand, but this week’s upheaval that has seen Harris rise to the top of the Democratic presidential field has derailed that outlook.
In his speech to parliament, Netanyahu praised Biden, who announced earlier this week that he would not run for re-election, but offered more glowing praise for Trump, without mentioning Harris by name.
Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 Israelis and taking hundreds hostage. The massacre triggered a severe retaliatory war by Israel, which has attacked the narrow seaside enclave, killing more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials. Israel has blocked most food and medical aid, sparking a humanitarian crisis.
Even here in Washington, Netanyahu has not been able to escape the mass demonstrations that have plagued him in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where thousands of protesters lined his motorcade daily and rallied outside the Capitol and on the monument-lined National Mall.
In a speech to parliament – largely dark and vowing absolute victory in Gaza – Netanyahu dismissed American protesters as “useful fools” acting on behalf of Israel’s enemies.
Despite tensions in his relationship with the pro-Israel Biden, the president warmly welcomed the prime minister to the White House for a meeting.
Harris declared herself an eternal friend of Israel but harshly criticized the “devastating” death toll and destruction among Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“I will not be silent,” she said after meeting with Netanyahu. “Images of dead children, desperate and hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes forced to flee a second, third or fourth time… We cannot turn a blind eye to these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering.”
It remains to be seen how Harris will refocus U.S. Middle East policy in contrast to Biden. The Israel-Palestine issue is a tightrope walk for Harris, who wants to express sympathy for Israel while distancing herself from Biden, who has been unstintingly supportive of a country that is sharply criticized by many Americans.
Administration officials working with Biden and Harris stress that there is “no difference” between the two leaders’ Israeli-Palestinian policies, but they acknowledge there are differences between them, perhaps because Harris has been more outspoken about Palestinian casualties from the start.
In their meeting, Biden and Harris pressed Netanyahu about the ceasefire currently being negotiated, but Netanyahu made no mention of it in his speech. The agreement would also free most of the hostages and increase aid to starving Palestinians in Gaza. The deal has been negotiated for months between Washington, Qatar and Egypt. U.S. officials have said both Hamas and Israel have delayed a final agreement at times.
Biden and Harris called on Netanyahu to take “last-ditch” steps, including setting a timeline for negotiating a permanent ceasefire and withdrawing Israeli troops from Gaza.
In his public remarks during the visit, Netanyahu also made no mention of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, which the United States, regional power Saudi Arabia and many others see as essential to a lasting end to the Gaza war and broader peace in the Middle East.In fact, last week he led the first-ever vote in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, to formally express opposition to Palestinian statehood.
Many critics, including many in Israel, have said that Netanyahu is delaying a ceasefire agreement to protect his own political interests, even at the expense of the hostages. The most extreme members of his far-right government have threatened to topple him if he makes concessions before the near-impossible complete destruction of Hamas.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has staunchly defended Israel, but for many, his claims miss the point,” Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at the Israel Policy Forum, a U.S.-based analytical group, wrote in a weekly column on Friday. “This is both a problem of Netanyahu’s own making and his usual tendency to prioritize his own political security over Israel’s fundamental security.”
“Netanyahu wins and Israel loses,” Koplow added.
Israelis who traveled to Washington to protest against Netanyahu, as well as relatives of Israelis and Americans being held hostage by Hamas, said many U.S. lawmakers do not understand how unpopular the prime minister is at home.
Long before Oct. 7, opponents had held regular large demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other parts of Israel to denounce Prime Minister Netanyahu’s efforts to reform and weaken Israel’s judicial system and other measures they say undermine Israeli democracy.
“Before Oct. 7, the question was, ‘Should Netanyahu resign or not?’ Now the question is not if, but when,” said Nadav Wyman, a former IDF sergeant and sniper who is now head of Breaking the Silence, a group of Israeli military officers opposed to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. Wyman was in Washington to protest against the prime minister and address a U.S. audience.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu came here to receive a standing ovation because in Israel you don’t get a standing ovation from anyone.”
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, insists he is the only leader strong enough to weather the Gaza war and the many other threats he says face the country.
