B’Ivrit│From Hope to Headlines: How Israeli Media Oversold Netanyahu’s Washington Trip

1. Hyping Up a Nothingburger Visit

“Hope is in the air,” was the front-page headline of Yediot Ahronot, Israel’s largest daily, last Monday, the day of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s White House meeting. The top of the page, all in optimistic light-blue tones, showed the Israeli prime minister and his wife Sara waving as they boarded “Knaf Zion,” Israel’s Air Force 1, on their way to meet Trump. Next to it, Yediot ran two columns from the paper’s top writers: Nahum Barnea, who wrote about the meeting taking place “in the shadow of the euphoria” brought about by the success of the Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, and Nadav Eyal, who spoke about the “rare opportunity to end the Gaza war.”

This was the dominant approach of most other Israeli news outlets as well. 

“A fateful meeting,” declared Israel Hayom, a popular publication owned by Miriam Adelson, in its headline, explaining the possible outcomes from the meeting: a Gaza ceasefire, a chance to reach a mutual understanding with Trump on the future of Iran, and the expected expansion of the Abraham Accords.

Maariv, a center-right daily, chose the same light-blue color scheme as Yediot with Bibi and Sara boarding the plane, but went for a less committal headline: “Between Doha and Washington,” reminding readers of the negotiations going on in the Qatari capital as Netanyahu met with Trump. Here too, expectations from the visit were set high. “Trump hopes to finalize with Netanyahu the conditions for ending the war and for the ‘day after’ in Gaza,” an anonymous official was quoted on the front page. 

The only spoiler came from liberal-leaning Haaretz, which went for a skeptical headline: “The U.S. pressure accelerated the negotiations, but key questions remain unsolved.” Instead of a photo of Netanyahu, the paper chose for its main image a photo of a bereaved Israeli father whose son was killed in Gaza last week.  

A week later, it became clear that Haaretz’s skepticism was well-placed. 

While the Israeli media, including all TV channels and news websites, bought into the government-driven narrative that Netanyahu’s visit to the White House would produce game-changing results and that the unique relationship between Netanyahu and Trump would open the door to a new Middle East, one in which Arab countries would flocking to normalize relations with Israel, where the Gaza war would end and all hostages would return, and in which Israel and the United States would find an agreed-upon formula to ensure Iran doesn’t go back to developing nuclear capabilities, none of that materialized.

After four days in Washington, including two meetings with the president and various sit-downs with top cabinet members and congressional leaders, Netanyahu had little to show. 

In its weekend magazine, published Friday, Yediot tried to explain. Barnea and Eyal wrote about how a week had passed with no progress, and how Trump was still trying, unsuccessfully, to pressure Netanyahu. 

The pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom sought to look at the glass half full. Under the headline “Allies,” the paper’s weekend supplement’s cover depicted the two leaders’ warm handshake, explaining that “Netanyahu concluded a successful week in America and is now back home to finish the job.”

Haaretz stuck to its gloomy tone: “While waiting for a deal, a war that has lost its cause is costing more and more casualties,” was the publication’s main post-visit headline. 

The disappointment was apparent across the board. Perhaps the Israeli media fell for a spin produced by the prime minister and his advisers, or maybe their optimistic reporting before the visit simply reflected the wishful thinking of all Israelis, including those in the press, to finally hear some good news.

2. When the Israeli Press Stayed Outside the Room

The scene at the White House on Monday was at times chaotic. 

Trump, in an attempt to treat Netanyahu to a good time following the Iran attack, chose to break with the tradition of Oval Office midday working meetings and instead hosted the Israeli leader at a private dinner in the Blue Room. 

But for the press, this meant waiting outside the room, without even a chance of a photo opportunity or of hearing statements from the two leaders at the top of the meeting, which was declared “closed press” by the White House press office. 

It was past midnight in Israel when the meeting started, but TV news channels stuck to the broadcasts from the White House when an announcement came in that the press would be allowed in after all. 

Not all the press. The White House stuck to the protocol of allowing only the designated U.S. pool reporters into the room. Israeli journalists, who crossed the Atlantic only to attend this moment, were left outside, frantically working their phones in an attempt to convince someone to let them in.

They failed. But it didn’t matter much.

Viewers in Israel who stayed up until 2 a.m. got to hear the U.S. reporters ask the president and the prime minister tough and focused questions. Trump, always patient with the press in these settings, entertained questions for some 20 minutes and touched on all issues relating to Israel and the region. That may have satisfied the viewers back in Israel, but did little to assuage the anger of the Israeli traveling press. 

Trump and Netanyahu met once again the next day. This time, there was no discrimination. Neither Israeli nor American reporters were allowed in.

3. Bibi Gives Interviews—but Not to the Israeli Press

Netanyahu, who seemed to be in good spirits throughout his Washington trip, set aside several hours for news media interviews. He sat down with Maria Bartiromo of the Fox Business channel, then with Fox News’s Mark Levin and with podcasters Nelk Boys, in an apparent attempt to reach the pro-Trump masculine audience.

But just like he does back at home, Netanyahu gave zero interviews to the Israeli press. 

Instead, the PM chose to communicate with the Israeli public via pre-taped video clips he filmed and edited and then shared with the Israeli press. No hard questions. In fact, no questions at all.

Netanyahu may be taking cues from Trump, who also prefers sitting down with reporters who’d rather shower him with praise rather than ask tough questions. But while Trump does make a point of giving interviews to mainstream media organizations once in a while, Bibi has avoided that altogether and has not done a single interview with the non-partisan Israeli press since the war started in October 2023.

4. The New York Times Doing the Work for Israelis 

“How Netanyahu prolonged the war in Gaza to stay in power” was the provocative headline of The New York Times’s deep dive into the conduct of the Israeli prime minister and his tendency to avoid, time and again, opportunities to end the war in order to maintain his political coalition. The lengthy article is extremely well-reported and filled with anecdotes, behind the scenes moments and quotes from those within Netanyahu’s close circle.

The Israeli press picked up the story quickly and all major outlets reported on its findings. “New York Times expose: How Netanyahu repeatedly torpedoed hostage deals,” reported Channel 12, Israel’s largest and most influential network. “Report: The war hasn’t ended because of political considerations,” said the Hebrew newscast on i24, a multi-language TV news network broadcasting from Israel. All newspapers and news websites also picked up the Times report. The buzz was so great that the PM’s office put out a statement in Hebrew to the Israeli press, calling the report “defamatory” and claiming that it was based on quotes from former officials who advocated for an end to the war and have since been replaced.

Still, the story and the reverberations it caused in Israel leave one unanswered question: Why did the Israeli press need The New York Times to inform them that Netanyahu was dodging a ceasefire? Laziness could be one explanation, but it is more likely that Israeli media, with its focus on the war and on the sacrifice made by all Israelis, may feel less at ease in digging into the failures of its leader to end the war and bring peace.

5. Finding Travel Destinations

Summer is here and the Israeli press, just like every year, is full of reports on the hottest travel destinations and vacation sites for families in need of a break.

This year, the stories are different. After nearly two years of war in Gaza, and following the almost complete shutdown of Israeli airspace during the 12-day war with Iran, travel considerations have changed. A report on Channel 13’s website explained the new priorities for Israelis, reflecting a reality many have faced these past months when they got stranded abroad or at home. The recommendations were to consider nearby destinations such as Greece or Cyprus; make sure all reservations can be canceled; choose Israeli airlines that are less likely to cancel their flights to Israel; and make sure there’s a nearby Israeli embassy or consulate, just in case.