It’s Time for Biden to Call Netanyahu

He might want to avoid controversy right now, but he can't avoid our most valuable ally in the Middle East.

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Rip off the Band-Aid, Mr. President.

We’re one month into the Biden administration and the president still has not called the prime minister of Israel, America’s most valuable ally in the Middle East. Admittedly, the sky is not falling. There is still plenty of time for the two leaders to speak. And there are plenty of senior officials downstream in the U.S. bureaucracy who are engaging with their Israeli counterparts. Secretary of State Blinken spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with Meir Ben Shabbat, Netanyahu’s NSA. Innumerable other American bureaucrats are working with their counterparts in Jerusalem, too. The U.S.-Israel relationship is both wide and deep. 

Nevertheless, critics of the president and his loyalists are attacking and defending the silence along partisan lines. The longer the pause before the call, the more fears mount of a return to the bad old days of acrimony between the Netanyahu government and the Obama administration, when the White House lowered its shield, allowing the United Nations to pass a horribly one-sided Security Council resolution against Israel denying its very heritage in Jerusalem.

Spoiler: It is not going to be that bad. Biden is a pragmatist who values the alliance. The same can be said for a number of his top advisers, even if there are some ideologues (Rob Malley, most notably) among them.

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Comments (29)
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  1. j p m

    Excellent article. Disappointed that the commenters here are no fans of Israel. I guess it was because Trump was pro Israel.

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    1. j p m

      Jonah would call that anti Trump anti Netanyahu

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  2. leonard oken

    It's payback time, the Dems could never get over Bibi's attempt to dissuade America from buying into the JCPOA. Biden is just giving Obama a "feel good " moment. You may not be able to "go home again" but contrary to the Constitution you can go back to the White House even after 2 Terms. The biggest nightmare for Democrats is this holds true for Republicans as well! I think the Donald had a grandparent who lived to 110!

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    Boomer Bob

    Why doesn't Netanyahu call Biden? I assume it must be due to established protocol? In ‘normal’ life/business, it's the one receiving the money that is the supplicant.

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    Scarlette Tarte

    First of all, Israel is our ally, not Netanyahu. And he is under indictment, very probably a criminal. Biden should only deal with his opposition.

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    1. leonard oken

      Totally Ridiculous statement. As of now Bibi IS the PM of Israel and Israel is America's best ally in the M.E. if not everywhere. Israeli law allows Bibi to stay in his place ,who is Biden to question the laws of an allied country? Have you ever heard of the statement "innocent before proven guilty" ? I am sure you would like to be treated that way as well!

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      1. leonard oken

        Oh excuse me .Apparently Biden does get involved in other countries laws!

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    Dina

    This is a fair take. Biden may have perfectly legitimate reasons for delaying his call to Netanyahu, but he should delay no longer, if only to silence his critics.

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  6. Daniel Rabiner

    "We’re one month into the Biden administration and the president still has not called the prime minister of Israel, America’s most valuable ally in the Middle East."

    That's funny. I don't recall the United States signing an alliance with Israel. Israel isn't an ally, they're a client-state.

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  7. FJR - Atlanta

    Maybe the Zionist Union party will invite Biden to speak before a joint session of The Knesset prior to the March PM election.

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    1. leonard oken

      In Israel the Knesset would allow Biden to come speak every day in the year if he wanted to! Isn't that what close allies do?

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    Paul Reichardt

    Odd. A piece about a rift between Biden and Netanyahu without even mentioning the word “settlement”, the historical policies surrounding which everyone understands to be the proximate cause of the rift between the two. It brings up UNSC 2334 in the context of discussing Jerusalem specifically, but not the subject of the very brief and unanimously approved (except Obama’s abstention) resolution itself, which was the illegality of…settlements. International law must be "fake news" now.

    Netanyahu wants to use Biden as a campaign prop to appease the Kahanists and ultranationalists on his right to keep himself in office and out of prison. Biden is smart not to take the bait and be his foil and to keep him fluttering in the breeze. The friction between the two leaders—and the alliance between the two countries—is all because of Netanyahu putting personal ambition over what is best for his own country. That’s not on President Biden.

    https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/netanyahu-orders-advancement-of-west-bank-settler-housing-projects-655015
    https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/in-israel-why-netanyahu-humiliated-biden/

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    1. leonard oken

      https://jcpa.org/why-israeli-rule-in-the-west-bank-is-legal-under-international-law/

      A little something about International Law and Settlements ,Kontorovich is not alone in his assessment. Aren't you happy we are back to the idea that Peace in the Middle East goes through the road to Ramallah? How Progressive of you!

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    2. Joe1776

      Trump finally proved that continued negotiations with the terrorist regimes in Palestine do nothing but make the middle east worse. They never would settle for anything but Israel's destruction so the US walked away from the table and said fine Palestine you don't want a deal you won't get one.

      And you know what? Other middle east countries started to break rank with the terrorist regime in Palestine and recognized Israel's right to exist. That was a good move there is no need to return to the old failed paradigms.

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  9. Scroop Moth

    Stream a conference call online and tell Netanyahu and the oil kingdoms with huge non-national populations that the US isn’t down with ethnocracy. We single out nobody. It’s time for Democrats to cut their losses in Florida.

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    1. leonard oken

      Maybe Israel doesn't get cut any slack but do you really want to rely on Windmills and alienate the oil Kingdoms right now? Remember 1973-74? Do you really want to go back to those times ? I don't remember Roosevelt having any problems working with the Soviets in WW2, how did that end up? Would the U.S. be down with a Nuclear Middle East? Keep ignoring Iran's aspirations. See what losses you can cut from that strategy.

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    DillaDonutz

    I'll say it out loud so Dispatch won't have to.

    This administration doesn't like Israel, and probably never will. They would rather be on a useless UN council and play footsie with people who want all of us Americans dead.

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      Dina

      Biden has a solid pro-Israel record.

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        DillaDonutz

        He's flopped on many of his old positions as of late and his wording and choices on this issue are reflecting a stance that is plain and simple to see.

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          Dina

          I guess we will have to wait and see, but oh! How I hope you're wrong!

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            DillaDonutz

            And I hope you're right. 😊

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