Hours after New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote about an "inevitable" US reassessment of the ties with Israel, the Prime Minister's Office and senior Israeli officials exhibited surprise and even dismissal over his column.
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After all, only two days earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had met President Joe Biden's special envoy Amos Hochstein, who said nothing about any such reassessment. Outgoing Ambassador Tom Nides, who completes his posting this summer, only last week told Israel Hayom that the relations were "rock-solid."
Video: President Joe Biden speaks about inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu / Reuters
Yes, Biden has yet to invite Netanyahu to the White House, and that does not look good, but senior administration officials regularly arrive in Israel to meet with him. Likewise, National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and his counterpart Jake Sullivan have close ties and even communicate via WhatsApp.
Real collaboration takes place across the board, and it is only getting stronger, be it on security and intelligence matter or on the Visa Waiver Program, which could have Israel as its latest participant as early as September.
In fact, the Israeli and US air forces have been holding joint drills this week as part of yet another bilateral exercise. In the grand scheme of things, while the bilateral atmospherics are not great, the substance of the ties has not been adversely affected; they have actually grown stronger.
Thus, Friedman's message has come off as divorced from what Netanyahu and his advisors know to be the real case. On the other hand, since Biden and Friedman are known to be close and candid with each other, Netanyahu has to take into account that this does indeed channel such a sentiment in the White House, despite the White House national security advisor spokesman telling Israel Hayom on Wednesday that "there is no talk on any official reassessment."
On the one hand, a senior Israeli official told Israel Hayom that "we are not aware of any decision to reassess the relationship on the part of the administration." In other words, Netanyahu's associates believe that Friedman was just expressing his own views rather than using his platform to announce an official step by the White House. Judging from the information and indications Israeli officials have been receiving, it appears that indeed Friedman's comments were nothing more than musing, not analysis, and definitely not actual news. It appears that he wishes for a reassessment, but this is not shared by the administration.
"Friedman only expressed an atmosphere, the vibes, the mood, among some in the administration and the Jewish-Democratic community. That sentiment is there not just because of the Israeli judicial reform controversy but also as a result of Israel's actions in Judea and Samaria. As far as those Jews and senior officials are concerned, the US and Israel may no longer share the same famous values and that is why the relationship should be reassessed. Yes, the lies propagated by has-beens from Israel have managed to drag Washington down that path," the senior Israeli official said.
But despite the sense that there is nothing of substance in what Friedman wrote, Netanyahu is gearing up for a potential clash. "It is no secret that we have disagreements with the US administration on the establishment of a Palestinian state, the return to the dangerous nuclear agreement with Iran, and on the policy of 'no surprises' on Israel's actions against Iran," the senior Israeli official said.
The senior official noted several cases in which the threat of assessment was issued. "The Ford administration announced this during Rabin's term; the Reagan administration did this vis-a-vis the Begin government; Bush Sr. used it against Shamir government, and his son used it against Barak and Sharon. But despite this, the relations between the countries only got stronger over the years and reached an all-time high in terms of military collaboration under the current prime minister. Netanyahu will make sure this trend continues," the senior official stressed.
One senior Israeli figure who has extensive experience on diplomatic matters recalled that Friedman got it wrong on Iraq and on a whole host of issues.
"If it is written by Tom Friedman, then it must be wrong. He has yet to get something right."
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