Biden Not Calling Bibi: Big Mistake

Israel should not be sitting by a telephone awaiting the first call from President Joe Biden.

Israel is a busy country. It has policies to implement, wars to fight, vaccines to distribute, agreements to sign, visitors to welcome, critics to reject, elections to hold. Sitting by the phone is a luxury it cannot afford, an indulgence as far from its character as can be imagined.

And yet, it gives the impression that it is sitting, biting its nails, awaiting Biden’s call.

This is pathetic and harmful. Let Biden bite his nails. Let him be the one waiting to make the call. In 1981, Prime Minister Menachem Begin pointedly asked U.S. Ambassador Sam Lewis, “Are we a vassal state of yours? Are we a banana republic?” The implied message was that Israel is no such thing. Well, if it isn’t – and this could be a matter for a more elaborate discussion – why is it waiting with such impatience for “the call”?

Of course, there is a flip side to this story of Biden not yet calling Netanyahu. To understand this side, it is useful to go back a decade, and be reminded of a president’s decision not to visit Israel as he was traveling to the Middle East. It was Barack Obama, who visited Cairo and Riad, Turkey and Iraq, and yet avoided Israel. As his defenders were quick to point out, Obama was hardly the first president to not visit Israel (he did visit, eventually). But that was beside the point. A first impression was made. A great suspicion took hold. Obama’s relations with the Israeli government – and the Israeli public – never really recovered. That is to say, first impressions matter.

For Obama, the “daylight” strategy for dealing with Israel – that is, to keep it at some distance – was by design. Was it a wise strategy? I think Obama’s record in the Middle East speaks for itself. He achieved little. His effort in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict came to nothing. You cannot advance peace for Israel when you do not have the trust of Israelis. His effort in taming the threat of Iran resulted in a flawed agreement that was ripped apart by the following administration (among other things, because Israel was vehemently against it). Donald Trump, as flawed a president as he might have been, achieved in one year more than Obama achieved in eight. Why? Because Israelis, Saudis, Emirates and others trusted him and agreed to cooperate with him.

Enter Joe Biden. He was Obama’s VP, but vowed to be his own man. He is the candidate Israel felt most comfortable with, because of his record of support and friendship. True, no one expected Biden to follow Trump and be as supportive of Israel as his predecessor. And yet, Israelis expected – they were told to expect – a president unlike Trump but also unlike Obama. If they begin to have doubts, you cannot blame them for having doubts. Two weeks and no call? Three weeks and no call?

Biden’s defenders tell us – like they did when Obama snubbed Israel – that this is nothing, that it’s not a snub, just his busy schedule. To which the only response is one given by Jerry Seinfeld in one of my favorite episodes of the show (watch it here).

“I thought he liked me, I thought he liked me, we were getting along”, says Jerry.

“Maybe he is busy, maybe he’s been out of town”, answers Elaine.

Jerry: “What, they don’t have phones out of town? Too busy? Pick up a phone, it takes two minutes. How can you be too busy?”

Biden is not too busy. Biden is deliberately not calling Netanyahu. Maybe he wants to teach him a lesson. Maybe he wants to signal that Israel is not a top priority. Maybe he wants to clarify that there is a new sheriff in town, unlike the old one. It is also possible that he, or his advisors, do not understand how much not-calling is going to cost him. Maybe he doesn’t understand that even though America is the strong ally and Israel the weaker one, there is a price for him to pay if Israel’s trust in him is lost.

Maybe Biden doesn’t understand that there is a price for him to pay if Israel’s trust in him is lost.

It is somewhat sad to see Israel in such state of eagerness to get a phone call.

It is also sad to see the President of the United States repeating mistakes that should not have been repeated.

He should have made the call long ago. And this can no longer be corrected.