While Israel remains a critical ally, one source familiar with the White House thought there was some repayment to keep Netanyahu waiting for a call.
The Israeli leader’s newspaper with former President Barack Obama, his close affiliation with former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, as well as the length of time it took to congratulate Biden on his victory are irrelevant.
Biden and Netanyahu last spoke on November 17 when the Israeli leader at the time congratulated elected president Biden on his victory. The call was notable because Netanyahu struggled to find the right words to congratulate Biden a week earlier, talking about his personal connection between the two without naming Biden the president-elect.
In public, however, the White House has said that the president is calling on fellow leaders by region and that he will soon be reaching out to those in the Middle East.
Biden, who has so far made 11 calls to foreign leaders plus the NATO secretary general, has also deployed his national security team to quickly get out of the gates with Israel. Foreign Minister Antony Blinken spoke twice with Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Secretary of Defense Benny Gantz and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben Shabbat. There is ongoing communication between the governments, according to several officials familiar with US-Israel relations.
The fact that Biden has not yet called Netanyahu is no cause for concern, five of the officials said, pointing to the numerous other talks between the governments.
A source with knowledge of the relationship says that the lack of phone calls did not affect the dynamics of the relationship. According to the source, this is not a point of friction between the countries during ongoing talks. “It’s part of normal and normalized relationships,” the source said.
White House spokesman Jen Psaki told reporters during a White House briefing on Thursday that “the president is looking forward to speaking with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He is, of course, someone with whom he has a long relationship and there is obviously an important relationship that the United States has with Israel. on the security front and as an important partner in the region. ‘
“He will speak to him soon,” Psaki added, but did not want to give a specific date or time when they would speak.
‘I assume he’ll call me. Believe me, I do not doubt it. ‘
At a rare press conference by the longtime Israeli leader, Netanyahu downplayed the delay. “[President Biden] name leaders in the order he finds acceptable, North America, then Europe, “Netanyahu said. He has not yet reached the Middle East. I assume he will call me. Believe me, I have no doubt about it. ‘
Netanyahu further said that the alliance between Israel and the United States was strong, although “it does not mean that we will agree on everything”.
Meanwhile, Israel is waiting.
“Joe Biden,” Danon tweeted, “you called world leaders #Canada, #Mexico, #UK, #India, #Japan, #France, #Germany, #Australia, #South Korea, #Russia. It can now be the be time to name the leader of #Israel, the closest ally of the #US? The Prime Minister’s number is: 972-2-670555. ”
Danon told Israeli army radio on Thursday that he “did not formulate the tweet, but I take responsibility for it”, adding that “the word choice was not successful, but I stand behind the message.”
Three officials said the Danon tweet was driven primarily by internal Israeli politics and the long-simmering tension between Danon and Netanyahu. But the setback came quickly, and many used Danon’s tweet to interpret Biden’s silence as politically driven.
Bidding is the ‘right size’
Current and former US officials point to the decades-long, close relationship between Netanyahu and Biden, saying that if any signal is sent, it is about US strategic priorities. According to Biden, Biden has the right relationship between the US and Israel, and that the Middle East is not the top priority with the challenges posed by China, Russia, climate change and other problems.
Aaron David Miller, a CNN contributor who is a former Middle Peace negotiator and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, suggested that U.S. priorities changed rapidly in the first few weeks of the Biden government.
“Memo to all interested,” he tweeted. “A call will come. But a clear message is being sent. Netanyahu was Trump’s 3rd call. To quote Dorothy, we are no longer in Kansas.”
“I feel confident that this is not about Israel or anything that happened during the Obama or Trump years,” said Daniel Shapiro, Obama’s ambassador to Israel. “It’s just about Biden’s priorities: Covid, economic recovery, climate change and racial justice. And when it comes to foreign policy, it’s reviving key alliances in Europe and Asia, restoring the US leadership on multilateral issues, “and prepare for the challenge of China, and face the challenge of Russia. He was absolutely disciplined about these priorities. But I’m sure the call will take place fairly soon.”
The Biden government has also sent reassuring signals to Israel in the past on a number of fronts, making it public that it will not back down from Trump’s more controversial policies, including the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. and the declaration of the holy city as the capital of Israel. And Blinken has made it clear that the US will abide by the normalization agreements that the Trump administration has mediated between Israel and countries in the Gulf region and elsewhere.
But Blinken’s comments about the Golan Heights to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Monday raised eyebrows. Israel conquered the Golan Heights in Syria in 1967 and has ruled ever since, but under international law it is considered an occupied territory. Trump broke with international consensus when he recognized Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights.
Asked if Biden’s government would continue to see the Golan Heights as part of Israel, Blinken said: “If lawfulness is left out as a practical matter, the Golan is very important for Israel’s security, as long as Assad is in power. in Syria, as long as Iran is present in Syria, militia groups have been backed by Iran, the Assad regime itself … over time, if the situation in Syria were to change, it would be something we would look at. not. ‘
The next day, Netanyahu said: “The Golan Heights were and will continue to be part of the State of Israel. By agreement or without agreement, we will not leave the Golan Heights. It will remain under the sovereignty of the state of Israel. ‘