Mr. Netanyahu Goes to Washington

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Congress, July 24, 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Craig Hudson.

The practice of inviting foreign leaders to address Congress goes back to 1824 with Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette. But the person most frequently honored with such an invitation, four times to date, is Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On July 24, he spoke to a joint session of the House and Senate […]

Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress Will Be About More Than Bashing Biden

Photo credit: Douliery Olivier/ABACA via Reuters Connect.

Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to address a joint session of the United States Congress on June 13. But that day, while an ordinary day in Israel, was the second day of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot in the United States and the rest of the Diaspora. Jews in the Diaspora traditionally celebrate the beginning and […]

The Only Path to Peace is Prosperity, Not Hamas

Photo credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress on July 24 at what promises to be an historic and controversial moment. Netanyahu’s speech allows him to “share the Israeli government’s vision to defend its democracy, combat terrorism and establish a just and lasting peace in the region,” said House Speaker Mike […]

Israel and the World After October 7 – An Interview with Bernard-Henri Lévy

Bernard-Henri Lévy

ParisThere are few men who feel the pain of distant upheavals as acutely as Bernard-Henri Lévy, 75, a French philosopher, filmmaker and public intellectual. Born to a wealthy Sephardic family in French Algeria, he cut his teeth as an international activist in his support for the war of secession against Pakistan by the erstwhile East […]

How Israel Wins the Postwar

Gazans gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, March 29, 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot.

Israel must finish the job of crushing Hamas in Gaza both as a military force and as a government. That’s the legitimate response to the surprise attack of October 7. This war aim also includes return of the hostages and minimizing Gazan civilian casualties to the extent possible. The Israel Defense Forces are in the […]

Rafah: Is a Common Israeli-American Approach Possible?

Palestinians during Ramadan in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, March 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem.

The final major combat phase of the Gaza war, an Israeli attack on remaining organized Hamas forces in Rafah, is approaching. It was delayed due to the humanitarian crisis impacting the Gaza population and negotiations over a limited pause in fighting for release of Israeli hostages. But the “how” of the Israeli operation has produced […]

America-Israel Disagreement over Gaza at a Critical Junction

US President Joe Biden meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, October 2023. Photo credit: Miriam Alster/Pool via REUTERS.

Rarely in the American special relationship with Israel has there been such a dramatic display of discord between leaders. What began as a remarkable show of American support and solidarity with Israel, in the wake of Hamas’s assault in October, came by February and March to be increasingly marred by acrimony. The White House statement […]

Israel’s Best Friend Ever

Photo credit: Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect.

President Joe Biden’s poll numbers are in freefall. A December 14 Pew poll found that only one-third of respondents approve of his job performance, the lowest such result since he took office. Moreover, his approval ratings even among Democrats plunged twelve percentage points since October 2022.  >> Window on Washington: Read more from Dov S. Zakheim […]