The meeting finally took place. It was cordial in front of the cameras, punctuated by a few touches of humor. On Wednesday, September 20, US President Joe Biden received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a New York hotel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, after having kept him waiting for half an hour. It was just another delay. Biden had constantly postponed the meeting, worried about the illiberal drift of the government led by his "friend" since December 2022.
The fact that the meeting did not take place at the White House was seen as a sanction. On Wednesday, Biden declared that he would like to receive him there within a year. It puts an end to an expectation that was damaging Netanyahu in Israel and encouraging demonstrations against him. This meeting is a balm for "Bibi the American," in the midst of a painful tour of the United States.
Netanyahu met Biden 40 years ago, when the former was beginning his meteoric rise at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Since then, the Likud party leader has been able to treat the US like a stage, fashioning his stature as a statesman, unparalleled at home. This time, however, the prime minister's visit has hit some serious snags. At every stop along the way, he has been pursued by demonstrators denouncing his judiciary reform, which threatens to upset the balance of power in favor of the most right-wing government in the country's history.
Biden has already urged Netanyahu to refrain from imposing this plan without consultation. On Wednesday, the American president barely mentioned it in front of the cameras. It was a disappointment for protestors who held up signs at the foot of the hotel with messages including "Joe, help save Israel." Netanyahu humbly said, "I think that under your leadership, Mr. President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia." To realize this American ambition, the prime minister may have to abandon his most radical coalition partners. Biden must also maintain their cooperation in the face of slow progress in the area of Iran's nuclear program.
"Here, he fears us. Here, he pays attention to us," said Roee Neuman in New York. Neuman is a spokesman for the demonstrators who have been gathering in the heart of Tel Aviv for the past eight months. Their agitprop operations are getting on the nerves of the Israeli prime minister, who is traveling with his wife Sarah. On Sunday, he lost his temper at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, accusing them of allying with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Iran and others by "slandering Israel before all nations." His opponents saw this as an incitement to violence.
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