Assessing Netanyahu’s Not-So-Great DC Trip

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1. Bridge building? Bibi’s not into that 

Many things can be said about Benjamin Netanyahu’s July 24 address to Congress. It was well-crafted, it artfully framed Israel’s war in Gaza as a struggle America and the West should care about, it was carried live by all major networks, and it won dozens of standing ovations from members of Congress.

But most of the praise came from the Republican side of the aisle.

In 54 minutes, Netanyahu did everything in his power to justify the actions of his government and to appeal for American and international support, but he did nothing to reach out to Democrats or to the Biden administration. The Israeli prime minister, who notably did not get a handshake from Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer when walking up to the dais, went through his speech without touching on any of the issues Democrats had been raising for months. Netanyahu did not mention the hostage deal, which Biden has put his weight behind and in which his administration is investing all of its diplomatic capital; he did not provide explanations to the heavy civilian death toll caused by the Israeli military in Gaza; and he shrugged off claims of malnutrition and starvation by arguing that Gazans get more than 3,000 calories per day thanks to aid convoys Israel allows in. Netanyahu did not lay out any plan or date to end the war, nor did he mention the idea of a two-state solution.

To be clear, no one expected Bibi to paper over his policy differences with the Biden administration, nor was there any hope among Democrats that a leader known for decades as a hardliner on all issues relating to the rights of Palestinians for self determination would suddenly become a bleeding heart liberal once he steps on the House floor.

But there were simple steps Netanyahu could have taken in order to signal to the already skeptical Democratic side that he came to Washington with a true bipartisan message: Key among these steps would have been acknowledging the hostage release deal that’s on the table and expressing a commitment to turning this deal into reality. It’s not that much to ask, given that the deal is fully based on a plan that Netanyahu himself presented, and it would have gone a long way in assuaging Democratic concerns that Bibi wants the war to drag on and has no intention of finalizing a deal.

2. For Dems, the chasm deepens

This did not go unnoticed—or unanticipated.
Roughly half of the Democratic caucus members in both the House and the Senate boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. Those who attended sat mostly silently, rarely joining in applause or standing up. (Rashida Tlaib decided not to boycott, instead she held up a sign reading “war criminal” during the speech.)

Democrats’ response to Netanyahu’s speech ran the gamut from disappointment to anger, but a Tweet from speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi crystallized the feeling shared that day by so many on the Democratic side: “Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber today was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States,” she wrote in her post.

Netanyahu, to his credit, did thank Biden in his speech, “for his tireless efforts on behalf of the hostages and for his efforts to the hostage families” and for his “heartful support for Israel.” He also threw in a line about Biden calling himself a “proud Irish-American Zionist.” (Bibi gave equal time to former president Trump, and read a laundry list of actions Trump took as president to help Israel.)

But while Netanyahu could have tried a little harder to show his gratitude to Biden—the president who traveled to Israel in the midst of a war and who pushed through Congress an emergency aid package of historic proportions—it’s not about showing appreciation. What got Democrats so angry was the feeling that Netanyahu has chosen to willfully and fully ignore the Biden administration’s requests to focus on the deal that is on the table and to finally sign an agreement that would release the hostages, bring about a cease-fire and potentially end the war. “Many of us who love Israel spent time today listening to Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings,” Pelosi went on in her X post. “These families are asking for a ceasefire deal that will bring the hostages home—and we hope the Prime Minister would spend his time achieving that goal.”

Quite frankly, it takes a lot for an Israeli leader to get a mainstream Democrat like Pelosi to use such harsh words or to drive veteran New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, one of Israel’s top supporters and for some the unofficial dean of Jewish Democrats in Congress, to call Netanyahu “the worst leader in Jewish history.”

3. Kamala Harris and the daylight factor

Netanyahu’s next day in Washington wasn’t any better in terms of his relationship with the Democrats. After being snubbed for a year and a half, the Israeli leader finally made his way to the White House for an Oval Office meeting with Biden. It didn’t seem to go very well. Biden quickly shook hands with Netanyahu as the two leaders exchanged brief pleasantries (and yes, Biden did mention Golda Meir) before the press was ushered out. After about 90 minutes, Biden called in representatives of the families of U.S. citizens held by Hamas in Gaza to join the meeting. The families, whose loved ones are all Israeli citizens as well, sat on Biden’s side of the table, sending Netanyahu a clear message that when it comes to the need to sign a deal, they’re with Biden.

From there Netanyahu hopped over to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for a 40-minute meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now also the unofficial Democratic presidential candidate. That didn’t appear to go well either. Shortly after Netanyahu departed, Harris called in the press and read out a statement about the meeting, which she described as “frank and constructive.” In her statement, Harris said that it is “time for this war to end” and expressed her “serious concerns” over the killing of civilians in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis caused by the war. “We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent,” she said.

An hour later, Harris’s statement was met with a response from a senior Israeli official who claimed that the vice president’s comments could harm the hostage negotiations, because Hamas will sense that the United States and Israel are not on the same page.. “We have no idea what they’re talking about,” was the response of a Harris aide to these claims.
Much of this goes back to the notion that Harris is and will be tougher on Israel than Biden, that there is daylight between the positions held by the president and those of his vice president and potential successor. The White House has pushed back against this perception, noting that Harris laid out in her comments after the meeting exactly the same principles Biden has presented to the Israelis many times.

Earlier last week I asked Haile Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, who served in the past as Harris’s Senate national security adviser, about the perception of Harris playing “bad cop” while Biden maintains a more positive approach toward Israel and Netanyahu. “The vice president is in lockstep with the president. There’s really no daylight between them,” she replied.

4. The hostage families call it like they see it

Walking out to the White House front lawn after their joint meeting with Biden and Netanyahu on Thursday, families of the U.S. hostages expressed a mix of optimism and anger. They were optimistic about what they understood as a commitment from both leaders to take the needed steps to advance the hostage release deal, but they were angry at Netanyahu. Here’s what Ronen Neutra, whose son Omer is being held captive by Hamas, had to say after the meeting: “The prime minister was distanced and lacked sensitivity, in contrast to the warm response and embrace we received from Biden, and I can’t understand this,” he said. “How is it more important for the American president to bring my son home than it is to the Israeli prime minister?” Neutra described the hostage families’ conversation with Biden after Netanyahu left the room, quoting Biden from memory as saying: “I will do everything in my power to bring them back.”

Aviva Siegel, who was released from captivity in December and whose husband Keith is still held in Gaza, said she came out of the meeting believing that Netanyahu wants to continue the war and that he is not willing to sign the deal now. “What can I do? I can scream, I can cry, I can hurt, I can talk, and that’s what I’m doing,” she said on a Sunday Zoom meeting with members of the activist group UnXceptable DC.

5. Heading south to Mar-a-lago

Hoping for some reprieve, perhaps, Netanyahu, with his wife Sara and team of advisers, flew down to Florida early Friday morning to meet with former president and 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump.

It’s been a tense few years for Trump and Netanyahu. The former president, still mad at Netanyahu for calling Joe Biden to congratulate him on his win in the 2020 election, has been publicly criticizing Bibi ever since. The pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago helped sort things out.

Trump gave Netanyahu a warm welcome, showered praise on Sara Netanyahu, and spent most of the meeting talking about his achievements in the region and how, if elected, he will bring peace to the Middle East.

Was this Netanyahu’s silver lining in an otherwise frustrating visit to the U.S.?
Probably not.

The former president may have given the Israeli leader the photo-op he needed, but Trump’s message on the Gaza war was anything but what Netanyahu wanted to hear. Israel, Trump had said in a Fox News interview, must end the war, “and get it done quickly.”

Wait a second, isn’t that exactly what Biden and Harris told Netanyahu?

Turns out that when it comes to his plan to extend the Gaza war until Israel achieves “total victory,” Netanyahu may have won over congressional Republicans, but when it comes to America’s current and future leaders, he is all alone.