“I told him, Bibi, and don’t repeat this, but you and I are going to
have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting.”
A ‘come to Jesus’ meeting? The Merriam
Webster Dictionary describes a ‘come to Jesus’ moment as “a moment of sudden
realization, comprehension, or recognition that often precipitates a major
change”, so what is a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting? My assumption is that it
is a meeting where the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu is summoned
to a meeting with the US President Joe Biden, where Biden in the role of
“loving, compassionate Jesus”, kicks Netanyahu to the ground, stomps on him and
threatens him with all sorts of consequences until, cowering, Netanyahu accepts
Biden’s dictates. Bibi versus the Big Guy.
There is more than a bit of arrogance in thinking that Biden can dictate terms
to Netanyahu. It is an arrogance cultivated for years by previous US
administrations, both Democratic and Republican since Israel’s creation. In the
role of both major benefactor, perhaps the parent that knows better and the
ally that has its own needs and emergencies. There have been administrations,
like the Eisenhower Administration during the Suez Crisis where the pressure
was direct, even brutal, and others, like George Bush II‘s where the pressure
took the form of quid pro quid. Relations between Israel and the United States
have never been as equals, but some US presidents have been more equal than
others.
Still, the arrogance shown towards Netanyahu, and since Israel is a democracy,
towards Israel itself, is rarely directed towards countries like Saudi Arabia,
Turkey, or Egypt. The phrase ‘come to Jesus’ and calling Netanyahu by his
nickname is also not a coincidence. Biden might genuflect in front of
Netanyahu, but not for a moment can he forget that Netanyahu is Jewish. And a
proud Jew too. Would Biden use the term ‘come to Jesus” with a (dictatorial,
for there are no democracies in the Arab World) Muslim leader? Somehow, I have
my doubts.
Arrogance and conceit are also the only explanation for Vice President
Kamala Harris making the statement:
“It’s important for us to distinguish or at least not conflate the Israeli
government with the Israeli people. The Israeli people are entitled to security
– as are the Palestinians. In equal measure,” she said in the interview
with CBS News.
Israel is a democracy. Israelis are not required to identify with all their
government’s positions on all topics and dissent is entirely acceptable within
the limits of the law. Would the present US administration take kindly to an
Israeli Prime Minister making a similar statement about the USA? Highly
doubtful.
Not for a moment should we convince ourselves that the tension between Biden
and Netanyahu is a matter of personalities. Policies, not personalities cause
the tensions, and the main point of contention is not Gaza, but rather that
Biden is upset that Netanyahu is unwilling to obligate to a “two-state
solution” any time soon.
Biden will have to be disappointed. His ‘come to Jesus” moment has yet to
arrive, but one day, it will. And it will be painful. In Shaa Allah.
On June 22 1982, Joe Biden was a Senator from Delaware and confronted then
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin during his Senate Foreign Relations
committee testimony, threatening to cut off aid to Israel. Begin forcefully
responded,
“Don’t threaten us with cutting off your aid. It will not work. I am not a
Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized
history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and
ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country. We
paid for it. We fought for it. We died for it. We will stand by our principles.
We will defend them. And, when necessary, we will die for them again, with or
without your aid.”
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