How Biden can help along Saudi-Israel normalization
In order to better understand the significance of this presidential visit, we reached out to three people knowledgeable about the region: Dan Shapiro, former US ambassador to Israel; and two former Israeli ambassadors to the US, Danny Ayalon and Michael Oren.
Danny Ayalon: “The main objective of this trip is to reduce the price at the pump ahead of the midterms. However, the president can’t say, ‘I am going to become friends with MBS to reduce gas prices.’ He needs to build a real agenda with actual content. Unlike Obama, who skipped Israel when he visited the Middle East.
“Having said that, every visit of an American president is extremely important: it strengthens the ties between the countries and improves Israel’s regional position, because when the world knows that the US stands by Israel, and that the bond is unbreakable, then Israel has much greater deterrence.”
Michael Oren: “Gasoline. It’s a major thing before the midterm elections in the United States —the Democrats could lose the House and the Senate. It’s important for the president to try to do his best to get the gas prices reduced.”
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