At Historic First Meeting, Words Unspoken Speak Loudest
UPHEAVAL “Knowing Washington and the way the White House works the whole Commotion [with Flynn] must have influenced the preparations [for the Netanyahu meeting] and I have no doubt the mind of the president was elsewhere ” former deputy chief to the Israeli embassy in Washington Dr. Oded Eran said. Yet it’s all part of the learning curve for a president who has never held public office or had experience with government bureaucracies
T he only thing we know for sure after the first meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is that they like each other.
The importance of good personal relations as a starting point toward reinforcing strong bilateral ties cannot be overstated following eight years of sour relations between Netanyahu and Trump’s predecessor.
But it’s only a first step. The news conference Trump and Netanyahu held prior to their private talks had its rocky moments especially when the discussion turned to issues that have divided the US and Israel for the past 50 years namely settlements and the two-state solution. Changes in longstanding positions are on the drawing board but it’s becoming clear that they aren’t going to be as radical as some people expected nor will they be hammered out in the early days of a new administration.
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