Netanyahu walks tightrope in Washington trip after Biden drops out of race

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington on Monday, leaving behind a brutal war to deliver a politically precarious speech to Congress at a time of great uncertainty following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race.

As efforts continue to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, concerns grow about the war spreading to Lebanon and Yemen, and the United States finds itself in the midst of a dizzying election campaign, Netanyahu’s speech has the potential to cause dismay on both sides of the ocean.

The risks have only increased with Biden’s decision Sunday to withdraw from the presidential race, especially as the choice of a Democratic replacement – and the potential next U.S. leader – remains up in the air.

A source familiar with Biden’s schedule confirmed Sunday that the president would host Netanyahu at the White House. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the exact time of the meeting had not been set as Biden recovers from COVID-19.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address Congress on Wednesday. He is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

A Netanyahu office official confirmed that the Israeli leader was scheduled to travel to Washington on Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement.

Netanyahu will deliver his speech to Congress with several audiences in mind: his ultranationalist partners in power, key to his political survival; the Biden administration, on which Netanyahu relies for diplomatic and military support; and Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which could offer Netanyahu a reset in relations if he is reelected in November.

His remarks risk angering either group, something the Israeli leader cannot afford if he hopes to maintain his tenuous grip on power.

“This trip is fraught with pitfalls and traps,” Eytan Gilboa, a scholar of U.S.-Israel relations at Bar-Ilan University, said before Biden withdrew. “He’s seen as a political wizard who knows how to escape traps. I’m not sure he knows how to do that yet.”

This is Netanyahu’s fourth speech to Congress, more than any other world leader. In his speech, his far-right partners in power will want to hear his determination to continue the war and topple Hamas.

The Biden administration will seek to make progress on implementing the latest U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal and secure details on a post-war vision. Republicans hope Netanyahu will tarnish Biden’s image and reinforce the perceived hope of the GOP as a staunch supporter of Israel.

After receiving the invitation, Netanyahu said he would “present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us.”

The war, sparked by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, has tested Israel’s ties with its main ally as never before.

The Biden administration has consistently supported Israel. But it is increasingly concerned about the behavior of the Israeli military, the ongoing difficulties in getting humanitarian aid to Gaza, especially after the short-lived construction of a U.S. military dock off the Gaza coast, as well as Israel’s lack of post-war plans and the harm done to civilians in Gaza. Similar concerns are likely to persist if Americans elect a new Democratic president.

Earlier this year, Biden froze the delivery of some bombs over fears they could be used in Israel’s incursion into the southern Gaza town of Rafah, then home to more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.

The United States abstained from a U.N. Security Council vote in March that called for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages but did not link the two. Netanyahu called the move a “withdrawal” from a “principled position” by Israel’s ally.

Biden has had to tread carefully. He has faced harsh criticism from progressive Democrats and many Arab Americans. Even Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the United States, lambasted Netanyahu in March over his handling of the war.

Some Democrats are likely to show their anger at Biden and Netanyahu by skipping Wednesday’s speech. Netanyahu is also likely to be harassed by pro-Palestinian activists during his trip.

Netanyahu last addressed Congress in 2015, at the invitation of the Republican Party. That trip plunged Israeli-American politics into a deep partisan divide, with Netanyahu lambasting then-President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal.

Netanyahu has not been shy about making Israel a partisan issue. With his conservative nationalist ideology, he has been seen in the past as supporting Republican candidates, angering Democrats and Israelis who want U.S.-Israel relations to remain bipartisan.

It is not yet clear whether he will meet with Trump. If a meeting takes place, Netanyahu could be accused of taking sides again. But if he does not meet with Trump, the former president could feel offended.

The speech also offers Netanyahu an opportunity to show Israelis that despite tensions with the Biden administration, American support for him remains unwavering.

“He wants the Israeli public to believe that he is still welcome in the United States. And that shows that the American people are with him,” said David Makovsky, director of the program on Arab-Israeli relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

For Netanyahu’s critics, the stance is unacceptable and gives legitimacy to a deeply polarizing leader whose public support has plummeted. Netanyahu faces widespread protests and calls to resign over the failures of October 7 and his handling of the war.

In a letter to Congress, 500 Israeli writers, academics and public figures expressed dismay at the invitation to Netanyahu, saying he would use the platform to promote misguided policies that align with those of his far-right ruling partners.

“His only interest is in preserving his own power,” they wrote. “Does the US Congress want to support such a cynical and manipulative model of leadership in these times?”

Israeli media reported that Mr Netanyahu would be accompanied by freed hostage Noa Argamani and her father. But for many families of hostages held in Gaza, the trip is an affront.

“This is not the time to travel,” Ayelet Levy Shachar, whose daughter Naama was kidnapped on October 7, told reporters.

“Netanyahu: First an agreement, then you can travel.”