There is something shocking about the continued selfish behavior of Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. With his country in the midst of a war with Hamas which has taken an extraordinary physical, emotional, and human toll on the people of Israel, Netanyahu flew off for a week of “politicking” in the United States. While the Israeli people continued to experience the loss of soldiers’ lives, hostages remaining in captivity, and thousands of citizens in the North and South unable to return to their homes, the Prime Minister paraded around Washington, in front of Congress, and in Mar-a-Lago. As if the U.S.-Israel relationship was in its prime, Netanyahu told Congress, American Jews, the people of the United States, and Israelis back home that he was bringing Israel to victory in its war in Gaza.
Not that there was any correlation, but yesterday Hezbollah struck a football field on the Golan Heights with reportedly twelve children or teenagers killed, 28 hospitalized, and one missing. Once the funerals are completed there is a serious likelihood of a major Israeli response against Hezbollah in Lebanon which, in turn, could escalate dramatically the fighting in the North. This is transpiring while the IDF is intensifying its continued military activities in Gaza at the same time that cease-fire negotiations appear to be moving ahead in Rome.
In considering Netanyahu’s trip to D.C., what was most disturbing—and was thus reported by a number of Israeli journalists—was that the Prime Minister was prepared to leave Israel—and then even to extend his trip—while so many issues were percolating at home. In addition, Netanyahu did not see any urgency to consider extending the current Knesset session which was concluding at the end of July.
Similarly, the Prime Minister found legislative time before he left to have the 120 Member Knesset pass by a 68-9 vote—with only the coalition members and Benny Gantz’s Party actually voting—a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state. This resolution, in fact, changes nothing with respect to any future negotiations with the Palestinians. It was merely a gratuitous slap at Washington and particularly at President Biden and the Democrats who consistently have been calling for a two-state solution.
Finally, after essentially preaching to the Congress about Jewish history and the horrors of October 7th and the ten-month war with Hamas, Netanyahu bought no new ideas to the American leadership except for a request for continued support. The Prime Minister offered no endgame scenario to the Gaza War. The Israeli leader appeared to take umbrage when American leaders, particularly Vice President Harris, followed up her private 45-minute meeting with Netanyahu reiterating her commitment to work to bring the hostages home. Harris also called for a cease-fire as well as an end to the suffering incurred by the Palestinian people.
Netanyahu exploited his visit to the U.S. arranging a meeting with former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee in November. Trump was relatively mild in his remarks after his Netanyahu meeting, feeling the public atmospherics were sufficient to satisfy his immediate needs.
The problem for Washington was that Netanyahu conducted this visit—based on an invitation to address a joint session of Congress initially offered to him by House Speaker Mike Johnson—to engineer further division between Republicans and Democrats. The visit and the speech did nothing to try to repair the fraying bi-partisan congressional support for Israel.
For American Jews and for a significant number of Evangelical Christians, Netanyahu used this visit strictly for his own personal ends. He sought to demonstrate to his domestic audience—almost three-quarters of whom do not want him to remain as Prime Minister—that only he can effectively lead Israel in these trying times.
Netanyahu has now returned home not only facing the precise situation he left behind, but with the prospect of a major confrontation ready to erupt in the North.
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Meanwhile On the Campaign Trail
If Vice-President Kamala Harris succeeds in defeating former President Donald Trump in November, she may well have President Joe Biden’s sense of political timing to thank for her victory. According to most of the public polls that have been released since the Trump attempted assassination, the Republican National Convention, and President Biden’s withdrawal from the race, Harris has totally reversed the bleeding that the Democrats were experiencing during Biden’s post-debate melt-down. Her numbers will rise with the announcement of her vice-presidential choice and the inevitable post-convention bump, the Harris campaign will be poised for an 80-day rush to the finish with debate(s) still possible. This window may prove to be just enough for her to defeat the former President. It is certainly a rosier picture for the D’s than it was ten days ago. It is also a moment in which the R’s need some type of credible excitement to break her momentum.
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