Biden just won a major victory. Israel should pay attention

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CIA Director WIlliam Burns landed in Israel on Tuesday, his first visit since assuming his current role.

While Burns’ arrival is an important development for U.S.-Israel relations, Israeli leaders shouldn’t let it distract them from another significant event that took place just hours after Burns’ plane hit the tarmac: the passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan by the Senate.

Biden is slated to host Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House at the end of the month – the first meeting between the leaders, both of whom recently took office. In the wake of Tuesday’s historic vote in the Senate, Bennett should take into account that he will be greeted in Washington by a politically strong president. Biden has just secured a major political victory and has already begun to carve out a legacy for himself – after only half a year on the job.

The landmark legislation was supported by 19 Republican senators. Biden can now tell the American public, and especially those who voted for him last November, that he has delivered on his campaign promise to restore bipartisan cooperation in Washington. Many American pundits ridiculed his unity rhetoric and repetitive emphasis that “there are no Republican roads or Democratic bridges.” He proved them wrong.

The infrastructure package, combined with the $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan that was passed in March, bolsters Biden’s argument that he is in office to quietly get things done after four years of too much noise under his predecessor.

U.S. President Joe Biden gesturing toward the media after arriving at the White House yesterday. EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/ REUTERS

In 2010, shortly after Congress passed Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to Washington to meet the 44th U.S. president. Before going to the White House, Netanyahu spoke with Congressman Robert Wexler, a pro-Israel Democratic legislator from Florida.

Wexler underscored to Netanyahu that Obama had just secured a major achievement, one that would be remembered for decades and define his presidency. Wexler suggested that Netanyahu congratulate Obama when they meet and bring him a fine bottle of Israeli wine. Netanyahu turned down the advice.

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Wine aside, Bennett should consider taking a different approach to that of his predecessor – if the meeting isn’t delayed or canceled, that is, due to the developing delta variant crisis in both countries. Netanyahu not only refused to congratulate Obama – for a large part of Obama’s first four years in office, he acted as though he was dealing with a one-term president.

In May 2011, Netanyahu publicly preached to Obama in the Oval Office about the Six-Day War and Israel’s basic security needs. That event, known as “the lecture,” came just 20 days after the world celebrated another major Obama achievement: the killing of Osama bin Laden. Netanyahu’s behavior conveyed a deep sense of disrespect for the president and is remembered with bitterness by senior aides more than a decade later.

Netanyahu was fed assessments by some of his most trusted advisers – as well as by Republican friends in the U.S. – that Obama was likely to lose his reelection bid. This may have contributed to his confrontational demeanor. Israelis and supporters of Israel in the United States all remember how that story ended: Obama won reelection handily and his second term saw endless friction with Netanyahu.

It’s unclear how much time Bennett is devoting to preparing for his meeting with Biden between cabinet meetings devoted to the spread of COVID-19 and ongoing security tensions with Iran, Lebanon and Gaza. Israelis should hope that the prime minister’s staff is communicating Biden’s current political standing and considering the possibility that after two major legislative victories in under six months, the Biden administration may be eyeing a more serious investment in foreign policy objectives.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday.RONEN ZVULUN – AFP