"Are you trying to uncrown Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s leader?” I asked an aide to US President Joe Biden over the phone last week.
“Absolutely not,” he replied. “There is no reason to think that we are.”
“Do you think it appears strange that we’re about to see another photo-op and meeting between Mr. Biden and Mr. Herzog at the White House, while Netanyahu is persona non grata?” I asked, realizing that I was going a bit far in my characterization, but phrasing it in such a way, nonetheless.
Biden's aide defends his relationship with Netanyahu and upcoming Herzog meeting
“Mr. Netanyahu is not persona non grata,” he insisted. “I think you are not only taking this too far, but you’re also ignoring the positive steps we are taking, and refusing to listen to the positive messages we are trying to relay.”
He explained: “I don’t have to tell you and your readers that President Herzog is a unifying force. He is a unifying force in a country which is a close friend and ally of the United States. President Biden’s upcoming meeting with President Herzog is meant as a sign of appreciation for Herzog’s efforts to stabilize the situation in a country that is so important to us.”
Joe Biden, of course, served as US vice president when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress in 2015, and spoke out against then-president Barack Obama’s approach in efforts to achieve a nuclear deal with Iran. Obama did not grant Netanyahu the meeting during that visit to Washington which Herzog is receiving today with the current US president, before addressing Congress tomorrow.
In a thinly-veiled swipe at Netanyahu’s speech back then, the Biden aide said in our conversation the other day: “Mr. Herzog will not be speaking against the US president when he addresses Congress.”
Remembering Netanyahu's 2015 congress address and expectations from Herzog's visit
Then he added: “I know that you’ll cite certain cracks among Democrats, but Republicans and Democrats are largely united in regard to the US-Israel alliance in general, and the Herzog visit, in particular. This will be a statesmanlike event, and that totally serves the interests of both our countries.”
He anticipated that “how to currently deal with the Iranian situation” would be raised in the talks with Herzog, but that “any contentious issues would be discussed in a manner worthy of the American-Israeli relationship.”
When the right time would be for the prime minister himself to visit the White House was not discussed in my conversation with the Biden aide, though a meeting between the US president and Netanyahu during the upcoming annual opening of the UN General Assembly was suggested in our chat, as it has been already in various media reports.
US-Israel Alliance: A statesmanlike event reflecting shared interests
“We are happy that Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke to President Herzog before the trip to Washington. After all, the two of them are not adversaries and Mr. Biden needs to hear from both of them,” the aide asserted.
“Aside from messages you’ll be getting during President Herzog’s visit, are you getting to hear from the prime minister, perhaps more directly?” I asked the aide. “Of course,” he said quite firmly, speaking before the reports that Biden and Netanyahu would talk by phone.
“Let me tell you something,” he stated quite bluntly, “there are times when public meetings are deemed useful, and there are times when there’s a feeling that public meetings would not be the best way to go; when other means of holding contacts are deemed more beneficial toward advancing the relationship.”
Biden and Netanyahu's relationship: Beyond public meetings
“Public meetings are not always the best way to go?” I ask. “That sounds more like handling ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel than Israel and the US.”
“That’s ridiculous,” he insisted, adding: “We are always talking to one another, and your defense minister has a close relationship with our defense secretary, your foreign minister has excellent ties with secretary Blinken, and so on, up and down the ladder.”
“What about my prime minister and your president?” I asked. He laughs.
“Why are you laughing?” I asked.
“Because such a question always reminds me of Mr. Biden’s own words which he stated a long time ago, publicly, not just privately,” recalled the aide, who then proceeded to repeat Biden’s well-known quote: “Bibi I don’t agree with a damn thing you say but I love you.”
Said the presidential aide: “That’s the thing: the president and prime minister actually like each other tremendously. They are Bibi and Joe to one another, but they know there are problems; the judicial overhaul, the extremism among some members of the Israeli cabinet. Bibi has assured us that he is the one who calls the shots in his cabinet, and that’s natural, just like the US president has to be the one calling the shots in his cabinet. So we’re following developments.”
Herzog's visit: A celebration of close US-Israel ties amid differences
He then made the following request: “I ask that Israelis follow President Herzog’s visit; it will be a celebration of our very close relationship, even as we do not hide our differences. It was nice how House Speaker McCarthy made the connection between your current president speaking now and his father, Chaim, as the last Israeli president to address a joint session of Congress.”
We had been on the phone for a long time. This is how the Biden aide concluded: “We know that in Israel, the president does not make policy, but your current president is using his good offices in an incredible manner. We want to thank him, and we hope that you get through this challenging time and other challenges in a peaceful manner.
“But please know, the relationship is strong; we are working with one another on a daily basis. And again, don’t confuse what sometimes seems like political body language with the endgame, which is ensuring a strong Israel for Israel’s own good and for the interests of both our peoples.”
The writer is op-ed editor of The Jerusalem Post and a former diplomatic and political correspondent.