The dramatic news that US president Joe Biden is exiting this year’s election came just hours before Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu departed for Washington where, on Wednesday, he will address a joint session of Congress.
That address, along with his planned meeting with the president, will be overshadowed by the ongoing US political maelstrom.
Before departing, Netanyahu acknowledged the president’s decision to stand down, saying he intended to meet him and thank him for more than 40 years of friendship. “This will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the [Gaza] war and during his long and distinguished career in public service, as senator, vice-president and president,” he said.
Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress in 2015 marked one of the lowest points in bilateral relations between the two allies. On that occasion he launched a blistering attack on the emerging nuclear deal that would be signed a few months later between world powers, led by US president Barack Obama, and Iran, calling it a “very bad deal” that would not prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
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The bad blood between Netanyahu and Obama lasts until this day and many believe that speech ended Israel’s traditional policy of seeking bipartisan US support on key issues. Almost 60 Democrats boycotted the speech as Netanyahu became the darling of the Republican Party and was dubbed the Republican representative from Jerusalem. Obama’s successor in the White House, Donald Trump, pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
This time, Netanyahu will make every effort to maintain a bipartisan balance. Before departing, he stressed he would affirm that Israel “will remain Washington’s ally no matter who is elected president”.
“I’ll address Congress for the fourth time, while Israel is fighting on seven fronts and in a time of political uncertainty in Washington,” he said. Netanyahu said he would discuss with Biden “important issues for both countries”, including the ongoing “co-operation for the release of all our hostages and achieving victory over [the militant group] Hamas”.
“It’s of utmost importance that our enemies know that the United States and Israel are working together today, tomorrow and always,” he said.
Washington is keen to see an end to the war in Gaza and for the sides to sign a ceasefire deal that will bring about the release of the hostages seized in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7th last, who include eight US citizens.
Netanyahu has included in his entourage a number of freed hostages and 12 relatives of those still held captive, but others refused to accompany him to Washington, arguing that he should have stayed in Israel to devote all his efforts to finalising a deal.
Thousands protested at Ben-Gurion airport ahead of the prime minister’s departure, chanting “No Deal: No Flight”. Supporters of the government, meanwhile, gathered outside Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem, calling for continued military pressure in Gaza.
The urgency of the hostages’ plight was reinforced while Netanyahu was in the air, when the Israeli army disclosed that two more hostages, Alex Danzig (76) and Yagev Buchshtab (35), were killed several months ago in Gaza and that their bodies were being held by Hamas. The army’s statement did not detail the circumstances of their deaths, noting that “all possibilities are been investigated”, including that at least one of them was killed by Israeli strikes in Khan Younis.
About a dozen Democratic lawmakers plan to boycott Netanyahu’s speech. Several hostages’ relatives are planning to demonstrate outside Congress, while Israeli activists in the US will also gather, under the banner “Netanyahu is a danger to Israel”.
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