Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to a joint meeting of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on July 24.Julia Nikhinson/The Associated Press
R. David Harden is the former assistant administrator at USAID’s bureau for democracy, conflict and humanitarian assistance, former USAID mission director to the West Bank and Gaza, and former senior adviser to president Barack Obama’s special envoy for Middle East peace.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned this week in Washington as a grand performative gesture to shore up his political base in Israel. He made history as the first leader to address a joint session of Congress four times, surpassing the British prime minister Winston Churchill, architect of the Allied victory in the Second World War.
Mr. Netanyahu expected to bask in an Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden, make amends with former president Donald Trump, and demonstrate to Israelis, Americans and the global community his stature as an elder statesman secure in his leadership and vision for Israel in the generation ahead.
Instead, he found an America largely disinterested in his visit and distracted by its own political drama after Mr. Trump’s near-assassination, Mr. Biden’s withdrawal from the election campaign, and Vice-President Kamala Harris’s likely Democratic nomination for president.
Mr. Netanyahu had hoped for compelling political theatre in Congress. Instead, Ms. Harris declined to preside over the joint meeting of Congress, citing a conflict with a scheduled campaign speech in Indianapolis. Mr. Netanyahu missed having the visuals of the Vice-President and the potential next president standing behind him repeatedly applauding his speech. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not shake hands with the Prime Minister, and Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance, too, was on the campaign trail.
Mr. Netanyahu will, however, get his White House meeting today – with a President now unburdened from electoral politics and with a deep memory of Mr. Netanyahu’s lack of gratitude for this administration’s controversial but unwavering support for Israel. Ms. Harris will meet with Mr. Netanyahu today as well – but she does not have a long-standing relationship with the Israeli Prime Minister. She also represents a party where roughly half of its caucus boycotted the speech. On Friday, Mr. Netanyahu will travel to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Mr. Trump, who made the explicit point of posting on his Truth Social account a warm letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
In his speech, Mr. Netanyahu forcefully defended Israel – and he did it in a way that is effective to Americans. He spoke in a carefully bipartisan manner, he invoked Biblical history, referred to those protesting the Israel-Hamas war as useful idiots, referenced Sept. 11th, and alluded to his time as a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ironically, given this historic moment, Mr. Netanyahu entered the halls of Congress with nothing substantive to offer to Israelis, Americans, or the world. He failed to free the remaining hostages, has not signed a ceasefire deal, has not defeated Hamas, and has not set out a meaningful “day after” plan for Gaza.
In his hour-long speech, Mr. Netanyahu was clear in his requests to the American audience, however. He proposed an American-led, anti-Iranian alliance, which he coined the Abraham Alliance, designed to confront Iran directly. Mr. Netanyahu also demanded that the U.S. speed up its weapon delivery. Yet with nothing in hand, Mr. Netanyahu will also likely get nothing in return – other than a few photo-ops and 52 standing ovations.
As Mr. Netanyahu landed in the U.S., nearly three dozen of Israel’s highest-ranking former intelligence and defence officials, diplomats, a Nobel laureate and private-sector leaders wrote to Congress to express their grave concern that Mr. Netanyahu’s continued leadership represented an existential threat to Israel. The Prime Minister returns to Jerusalem this weekend to a nation deeply divided, with mass protests calling for a hostage deal and uncertainty as to whether the ultra-orthodox community will heed the call to serve in the Israel Defence Forces. Audiences in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, along the northern border with Lebanon and close to Gaza will not give standing ovations to the Prime Minister.
Mr. Netanyahu, however, did score one notable outcome: He will likely survive politically until at least the end of the year, given that the Knesset goes on a three-month recess next week. As Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu can likely continue to delay his criminal trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. While the hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, Mr. Netanyahu was able to secure his own position a bit longer.
The news cycle moves fast in Washington. By Wednesday evening, major media outlets were focusing on Mr. Biden’s historic Oval Office speech where he passed the torch of leadership to the next generation. Mr. Netanyahu’s trip will quickly become nothing more than an afterthought, simply yesterday’s news. The tragedy of the region, however, lingers on, fostering grievances that will last generations.