It’s hard to overstate the value of a personal friendship between an Israeli prime minister and an American president to the relationship between the small state and the strongest power in the world. An open door at the White House is of even greater worth when Congress is controlled by the president’s own party. Nowadays, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will find it more difficult to work against an American president, the way he did in March 2015, when he tried to hinder the Iran nuke deal championed by President Barack Obama by speaking at the US Congress without coordinating it beforehand with the White House.

The importance of the chemistry between the two leaders goes beyond the bilateral arena. When a US president looks out for an Israeli prime minister, Israel is accorded a special status in the international community. Having the ear of an American president is a priceless boon for any small country, and even more so for an occupying power under constant international censure. But this is not the case when the new resident of the White House is perceived by the world as a bumbling greenhorn.

The honeymoons of President Bill Clinton with Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak, and George W. Bush with Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, were the golden years of Israeli diplomacy. Israeli envoys around the world were honored guests in the homes of the leaders of their host states. Senior Israeli officials were often asked to help out other countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and even the former Soviet states, and to advocate for them at the White House. The pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee was mobilized quite a few times to help countries that Israel wanted to support. Rarely, if ever, did American presidents push Israeli premiers into situations in which US global interests or policy in conflict zones contradicted those of Israel.

The crisis in Israel’s ties with Mexico following Netanyahu’s tweet on Jan. 28 enthusiastically endorsing Trump’s plan to build a wall on its border with the United States showed that walking hand-in-hand with Trump is like strolling through a minefield. That crisis is officially over after President Reuven Rivlin apologized to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Nonetheless, embracing Trump on such a controversial issue for the American public and in the media did not do much for Israel’s standing in the United States and the world. Luckily, Netanyahu did not rush into lockstep with Trump when Trump veered toward Taiwan, incurring the wrath of Beijing and several days later had to promise Chinese President Xi Jinping that he would honor the traditional American “one China” policy.