What happened: President Biden hosted President Herzog for a meeting in the Oval Office last night.
- At the start of the meeting, Biden noted that his love for Israel was “deep rooted and long lasting.”
- Reading from pre-prepared notes the US president continued, “It’s 75 years, hard to believe. This is a friendship which I believe is simply unbreakable, and together we are working to bring more integration and stability in the Middle East. There’s a lot of hard work, we’ve got a lot more to do, but there is progress. Last year we convened the largest gathering of Arabs and Israelis in a decade, and we resolved the maritime boundary dispute between Israel and Lebanon – which people thought could never happen. We opened up airspace for Israel over Saudi Arabia and Oman after our visit there, and we brought Israelis and Palestinians together on a political level at Sharm el-Sheikh.”
- The President also recalled what he told Prime Minister Netanyahu on the phone the night before, “America’s commitment to Israel is firm and it is ironclad. And we are committed as well to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.”
- In response President Herzog said, “I bring a message of gratitude on behalf of all the people of Israel, the entire nation of Israel, from all sides of the political spectrum, all expressing great friendship, and gratitude to you.”
- He continued, “I was pleased to hear about your conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, which focused on our ironclad military and security cooperation. Because there are some enemies of ours that sometimes mistake the fact that we may have some differences, as impacting our unbreakable bond. I truly believe that if they would know how much our cooperation has grown in recent years and achieved new heights, they would not think that way.”
- President Herzog also related to the domestic unrest in Israel, as yesterday saw another day of disruption and widespread protests against judicial reform across the country. Despite being in DC Herzog said, “my heart and soul are also in Israel in the heated debate which we are going through as a society. It is a heated debate, but it is also a virtue of and a tribute to the greatness of Israeli democracy. Let me reiterate and be crystal clear, Israeli democracy is sound, strong, and resilient. We are going through pains, we are going through heated debates, we are going through challenging moments… we shall always seek to find amicable consensus… I am pursuing that, even in these very moments through my people as much as we can, in order to find solutions and exit out of this crisis properly.”
- Herzog later met with US Secretary of State Blinken, who spoke of, “a unique relationship, grounded in our commitment to Israel’s security, but also grounded in democratic values.” Blinken also reiterated his commitments:
- Making sure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.
- “Deeply committed to the normalisation process and both deepening and expanding Israel’s relations with its neighbours far and wide.”
- “We are also committed to finding a way toward two states for two peoples, something that we feel is essential to Israel’s long-term security and its standing as a democratic Jewish state.”
Context: President Herzog’s invitation to Washington was planned already last year to mark 75 years of Israeli independence and not related to the current disagreements between the US and the Netanyahu government.
- However the timing of the visit is now convenient for the US administration to distinguish their love and support for the people and State of Israel, whilst airing concerns over some aspects of the current Israeli government’s approach and specific hard right members of the government.
- The US emphasis that the strong relationship is based on shared values could also be interpreted as a warning for the Israeli government to maintain it’s a status as a liberal democracy.
- Ahead of Herzog’s arrival President Biden called Prime Minister Netanyahu, marking their first conversation in four months.
- Netanyahu took the opportunity to reassure the President.
- Regarding the judicial reform, Netanyahu explained that despite his efforts, he failed to reach an agreement with the opposition, but that after passing the bill to remove the reasonability clause, he intends to work over the summer to reach a consensus on the judges selection committee. After that, there will no more reforms.
- Regarding the West Bank, Netanyahu elaborated on his efforts to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, won’t accept new settlement outposts and won’t build any more in the settlements until the end of the year. However the Prime Minister’s Office have denied this constitutes a settlement freeze.
- Israeli media have noted other discrepancies between the Israeli and US accounts of the call. According to the Israeli version Netanyahu will be invited to the US soon. The White House release did not mention this.
- Some analysts have suggested that the meeting may indeed take place in the US, but on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and not in the White House. However, Tzachi Hanegbi, the National Security Adviser, has explicitly stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu will meet the President in the White House in September.
- In parallel yesterday, Hanegbi hosted the British National Security Adviser Sir Tim Barrow, for the Israel UK bilateral strategic dialogue in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Netanyahu also joined for part of the meeting that saw the sides discuss Iran, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Palestinian arena.
Looking ahead: Later today President Herzog will address a joint session of Congress especially devoted to celebrating Israel’s 75th anniversary.
- Later this week President Herzog will travel onto New York where he will meet UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres and members of the Jewish community.