On the evening of Aug. 3, the chairman of the opposition, Knesset member Isaac Herzog, and US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro arrived together at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba to visit people wounded in Operation Protective Edge.
Two days earlier, on Friday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scolded Shapiro over the phone, demanding that the US administration back him up while he deals with Hamas, rather than doubting his intentions. Given the tension between the two governments, it seems as if the ambassador considered Herzog’s invitation a good opportunity to declare to the media that the United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself. Meanwhile, Herzog went out of his way to praise Israel’s friendship with the United States for its help in funding the Iron Dome defense system.
