Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waited four weeks for his first phone call from US President Joe Biden, whom he has known for almost four decades. Netanyahu’s office reported that the Feb. 17 conversation was “very warm and friendly,” lasting nearly an hour and covering all the key issues on their agenda. Truly idyllic. The Israeli announcement also reported that the president “commended the prime minister on his leadership in the fight against the coronavirus.” The White House statement did not — maybe a reflection of the fact that while Biden’s election is behind him, Netanyahu’s is still a month away.
The very next day, Netanyahu was already kicking the milk bucket that had just begun to fill by tweeting particularly effusive condolences on this week’s passing of conservative provocative talk show host Rush Limbaugh at the age of 70. Netanyahu is well aware that Democrats despised Limbaugh, his views and his right-wing preaching. He knows that his tweet is tantamount to a finger in the eye of the entire party. He is familiar with the ins and outs of US politics and with the backrooms of the Washington power structure and understands fully what it means when he says, “We shall miss him dearly.”
While Netanyahu’s praise of the controversial firebrand drew some domestic criticism, too, people who know Netanyahu well are convinced he was making a statement beyond the obligatory consolations. In fact, he was telling Democrats that while they had gotten rid of former President Donald Trump, they are stuck with him and he has no intention of giving up or turning the page. I am here to stay, I am a Republican. Thus spoke Netanyahu.
In a way, Netanyahu’s expression of sympathy for Limbaugh’s family and the controversy as a result were merely a gimmick. He has a perfect right to mourn a person whom many in Israel regard as a devoted supporter. The more troubling matter is the last-minute postponement by the prime minister’s office of a Feb. 18 policy discussion of Israeli strategy and policy ahead of renewed negotiations between the United States and Iran and the start of the Israeli-American dialogue on the issue. Participants were to include Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and the heads of Israel’s intelligence and security agencies.
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