Caught in the Crossfire

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Ahead of his flight to Washington this week to address Congress amid American political upheaval, Israel’s prime minister described the trip as “the most important diplomatic visit of my life.” Binyamin Netanyahu genuinely believes that Israel’s fate for generations to come will depend largely on his visit’s impact on American public opinion, which he sees as the most important and paramount future factor for Israel’s survival.

A successful visit, in his view, would provide Israel with the ammo to resist international pressure to pull back on all fronts in the coming months. Netanyahu cited Churchill’s trip to Washington in 1941, which swayed American public opinion and allowed President Franklin D. Roosevelt to sign the Lend-Lease Act, giving Great Britain the materiel it needed to resist Nazi aggression, while maintaining the politically popular Monroe Doctrine of isolationism.

Israel is still the strongest power in the Middle East, but growing anti-Israel sentiment abroad requires the prime minister to reassert Israel’s legitimacy in the all-important American arena.

The critical window in Netanyahu’s eyes is the four months remaining until the presidential election in November. Contrary to Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman’s claim that Netanyahu intends to dissolve the Knesset and call a November election to avoid taking the stand in his criminal trial, Netanyahu himself is making clear that he intends to keep the right-wing government afloat for as long as possible.