Mr. Netanyahu goes to Washington — irking some U.S. Democrats and protesters at home
'Don't go to Washington to put on another show,' Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid cautioned recently
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Monday, he left behind one war — brutal and seemingly unending — to navigate America's political battlefield, chaotic and unpredictable.
Perhaps it's even more so this week, as U.S. President Joe Biden's firm pro-Israel policies — influenced by decades of close relations with its leaders — soon may be replaced by something else.
The candidate Biden is backing, Vice-President Kamala Harris, has largely followed the president's lead on Israel, with her former national security advisor in Congress, Halie Soifer, saying "no daylight" exists between Harris and Biden.
But Harris has questioned Israel's military approach in Gaza more frequently than Biden.
In March, she said Israel was not doing enough to ease a "humanitarian catastrophe" during its ground offensive. Later, she did not rule out "consequences" for Israel if it launched a full-scale invasion of refugee-packed Rafah in southern Gaza.
Israelis warming to Harris?
Despite these comments, some in Israel have been warming to Harris, said Tel Aviv pollster and political analyst Dahlia Scheindlin, "because she's married to a Jewish guy" — lawyer Douglas Emhoff.
"She was seen as more progressive than Biden in the 2020 campaign, but now they [Israelis] believe she will represent a more mainstream centrist Democratic line," Scheindlin added.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's current approach to Israel is also unclear.
As president, he was seen as a staunch supporter, moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018, recognizing the Jewish state's capital in a way previous presidents would not. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, and much of the international community sees East Jerusalem as illegally annexed by Israel.
Recently Trump seems to have soured on Netanyahu, criticizing him for being "not prepared" for the deadly October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas.
Netanyahu's Washington gambit
But that hasn't stopped Netanyahu from conspiring with Republicans to exert his influence over U.S. politics, said Chuck Freilich of the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv-based think-tank, and Israel's former deputy national security adviser.
He calls Netanyahu's U.S. visit "a grave mistake."
"This will now be the second time that he's coming to address Congress behind the back of a Democratic president in collusion with a Republican speaker," said Freilich.
Netanyahu's last speech to Congress in 2015 "irritated" former president Barack Obama with his criticisms of U.S. Middle East policy and alienated some Democratic lawmakers, including nearly 60 who boycotted the event.
More are expected to stay away from his speech to Congress on Wednesday, despite Netanyahu's pledge on Monday that whichever president U.S. voters choose, "Israel remains America's indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East."
The invitation was the initiative of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson. It was later co-signed by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, but criticized by other Democratic lawmakers.
During his visit, Netanyahu is expected to meet with both Biden (depending on Biden's COVID-19 prognosis) and Harris. He has also reportedly approached Trump's team for a meeting with the former president.
Over the weekend, Netanyahu seemed to snub Biden by being one of the few prominent Israeli politicians of any party not to acknowledge the outgoing president's help to Israel.
He is "sticking his finger in the eye of Democrats and the Biden administration," said Dan Arbell, a former senior Israeli diplomat now with Washington's American University, to show he can influence U.S. politics.
This comes as Republicans look to make U.S. support for Israel a "wedge issue," said Freilich, trying to push Israel's supporters to vote for them.
Gaza war and Israel's politics
Netanyahu's trip was also controversial in Israel. He's been criticized for insisting on "complete victory" in Gaza — even carrying along a baseball cap with that slogan — instead of coming up with a deal with Hamas that would see almost 120 Israeli hostages released in exchange for a ceasefire.
"Mr. Netanyahu, this is not the time for a show trip. This is the time now to close a deal and to return the hostages home," said Danielle Alony, a former Israeli hostage, released in a previous deal with Hamas last November. "First of all, a deal."
Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been negotiating through U.S., Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries in Doha and Cairo for weeks on a proposal presented by Biden in May. Two weeks ago, Biden posted on social media that his "framework is now agreed to by both Israel and Hamas."
Differences remain, including Hamas' demands that the initial temporary ceasefire be guaranteed to become permanent, with Israel pulling back all troops from Gaza, and Israel's demands that the border between Gaza and Egypt be subject to Israeli control to prevent weapons smuggling.
Ceasefire hopes
Many in Israel are skeptical that Netanyahu wants a deal, because his hard line coalition partners, including Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have warned that Netanyahu "must not stop the war before achieving all the goals we have defined," or else they would bring down his government.
Netanyahu has insisted those goals include "complete victory" over Hamas, though he has not defined what that means.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has been quoted by Israeli media as saying he believes the time is right for an agreement on a ceasefire.
Pollster Scheindlin says they represent the majority of Israeli voters.
"Why is he going?" asked opposition leader Yair Lapid, speaking at the last protest before Netanyahu left for Washington. "Go to Qatar, go to Cairo," he continued, "don't go to Washington to put on another show."
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