Bennett in Washington ahead of first meeting with President Biden

Read More

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has arrived in Washington on Wednesday, and is set for a series of meetings with top U.S. officials, ahead of his Thursday meeting with President Joe Biden.

At 5 P.M. Israel time, Bennett will meet with AIPAC’s CEO, Howard Kohr, and the pro-Israel lobby’s president, Betsy Berns Korn.

Starting at 8 P.M., he will meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

Host Simon Spungin is joined by senior U.S. analyst Alon Pinkas and senior military commentator Amos Harel to look ahead to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s upcoming visit to the White House – the first meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and the new Israeli leader.

On his first trip to Washington, new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has a rare opportunity to forge a good and intimate relationship with President Joe Biden despite a host of potentially contentious issues that are bound to come up.

To lay the ground for this to actually happen, Bennett needs to make interdisciplinary preparations: the issues, psychology and atmosphere of the meeting, when to be adamant and when to just listen, the prioritizing of Israeli interests and how and when they’re presented, and to show up with a deep understanding of U.S. interests and an assessment of what Biden’s agenda for the meeting is.

>> Click here to read the full analysis

U.S. President Joe Biden speaking at the White House on Wednesday.
Leah Millis / Reuters

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday he was confident of the “new spirit” in Israeli-U.S. ties.

“There are new leaderships in the U.S. and in Israel,” Bennett told reporters at Ben-Gurion International Airport. “I bring with me from Jerusalem a new spirit that is founded on years of special connection between the two countries. I’m certain this new spirit of cooperation already has and will keep on leading to great achievements for Israel and its security.”

Bennett added that Iran will top the agenda in his Thursday meeting with Biden, but said they will also discuss the coronavirus pandemic, and Israel’s world-first booster vaccine drive, the climate crisis and economic issues.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett prepares to board a flight to Washington at Tel Aviv airport, on Tuesday.
Avi Ohayon/GPO