The first-ever official visit by an Israeli head of state to the White House took place with great pomp and splendor in January 1964. There was immediate affection and mutual respect between then-US President Lyndon Johnson and then-Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol. Four years later, Johnson took it even a step further by hosting Eshkol not only in the Oval Office but at his Texas ranch as well.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
But at a time when ties between Israel and the United States were strained, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion had to make do with informal courtesy meetings with US presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower that usually took place in a dimly lit lobby of a New York hotel, far from the public and media.
Video: Biden to the UN: The world is not only waiting on us, it is depending on us / Credit: Reuters
Since the ice broke during the Johnson era, visits by Israeli prime ministers to the White House have become a generally firmly established practice. Yet the old tune seems to be making a comeback, precisely now that the two governments have the opportunity to work together toward a coveted normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia that would serve as a springboard to change the entire Middle East.
Once again we are witnesses to an apparent return in time to the distant days when the US administration spared no effort to downgrade the meetings with Israeli leaders and deprive them of any sign of statehood.
Such will be the meeting between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that will be held at the InterContinental hotel (not even at the Waldorf Astoria where meetings with Israeli officials used to be held in the early years of the state) without any trace of ceremonies and festivities.
The reason for this is clear: Although both Netanyahu and Biden want to accelerate the Israeli-Saudi normalization, which will serve the political and diplomatic interests of both, they are separated by differences of opinion over the details of the agreement with Riyadh, and it is highly doubtful whether reconciliation and a formula agreed upon by all are possible.
Despite the fact that both Biden and Netanyahu will arrive at the InterContinental bruised and faltering in terms of popularity, it is not at all clear whether their ambition to leave the summit victorious is a reality or just a far-fetched dream.
Netanyahu continues to be trapped between his strong desire to expand the Abraham Accords and promote a normalization arrangement with Saudi Arabia (which will help aid in his effort to curb the Iranian threat, while at the same time calming the raging domestic arena and restoring his status domestically), and the Coalition constraints that make a breakthrough via this route very difficult. Let us not forget that the journey to Riyadh should also take place in Washington and Ramallah, without any detour or shortcut.
In order to realize his vision, Netanyahu is required not only to agree to concessions and compromises in the Palestinian arena but also to please America in everything related to the foundation and the history of the "special relationship".
In other words, Netanyahu must commit to no longer deviating from the rooted essences of this relationship, which include an unequivocal promise to preserve the existing legal and constitutional character and integrity of Israeli democracy, in all its layers and components.
This is, therefore, the essence of the concept of affinity between policies, which has become a tangible and hard lever in the hands of "all the president's men", which has the purpose of limiting the prime minister's room for maneuver.
From the point of view of Washington, which is frustrated by unfulfilled Israeli promises, without an explicit commitment on Netanyahu's part to freeze the judicial reform legislation, and at the same time also agree, at the very least, to confidence-building measures vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority, Biden will not agree to invest precious resources in normalization with Riyadh.
As much as the US president, who is underperforming in the polls, is eager to become the architect of the regional order as the election year approaches (and in the face of a strong challenge by Donald Trump), he remains determined (and this is derived from his worldview) to receive a real Israeli concession (and not just a rhetorical one as in the past), as a pre-condition for this goal.
All this while at a time he has to contend with important challenges, such as the need to continue massive aid to Ukraine and deal with the cold war with Russia and China.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
For Netanyahu, however, this concept of linkage and connection poses a dilemma full of challenges, which even a virtuoso juggler like him will have difficulty solving. Because any Israeli concession (with the exception of symbolic gestures), in the Palestinian arena (not to mention the president's activity to promote the two-state solution, as he said Tuesday at the UN General Assembly), may upset right-wingers, such as Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.
On the other hand, freezing the judicial reform may cause disgruntlement among, at least, some ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, not to mention the architect of the legislation, Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
Given the state of affairs, even the great Houdini would have difficulty freeing himself. Therefore, unless a magic formula is found that will allow the two leaders to declare achievements or at least welcome progress, it seems that this is a charged meeting, whose outcome is already known.
Professor Abraham Ben-Zvi and Dr. Gadi Warsha's book, published by Lamda-The Open University Press, is called "Knock of every door: Israel's foreign policy 1948-2018" (Hebrew).
