Netanyahu referred to the cartoon bomb when he held up the maps, pulling out a red marker and drawing a line showing a planned trade corridor stretching from India through the Middle East to Europe.
This is the first meeting between the two since Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022.
US leader addresses UN General Assembly a day before his first face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as president.
An Israeli official says Israel had relayed its “dismay” through diplomatic channels, including the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, after Ambassador Steffen Seibert posts a video of himself on X at the High Court of Justice deliberations on the controversial judicial reform.
The prime minister is back in his element with meetings lined up with Biden, Zelenskyy and Erdogan as well as a speech at the United Nations.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen hailed Cleverly's trip as important for deepening Israel's ties with Britain, which he said "are currently at their peak."
"Many nations choose not to open their embassies in Jerusalem, but we have made a conscious choice," the nation's PM says at the event.
Lew, if confirmed by the US Senate, will face a complicated political situation, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushes through a judicial overhaul opposed by many Israelis and the Biden administration.
A replacement plane was sent from the UAE to bring the Israelis back from Jeddah, marking the first official commercial flight from the kingdom to the Jewish state. "They treated us well and put us in a fancy hotel," one Israeli tourist told Israel Hayom.
Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem say that minister's comments on restricting Arab movement inflict major damage on Israel’s public diplomacy efforts after American model Bella Hadid accuses him of racism. Ben-Gvir tells US model: "Come visit Kiryat Arba and see the threats we face."