Sunday, 21 February 2021 (YJC) _ Danny Ayalon said Biden is a true Zionist and is wholly invested in Israel's security.
U.S. President Joe Biden did not call Benjamin Netanyahu for over a month after his inauguration due to the Middle East being moved down his list of priorities, according Danny Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the United States from 2002-2006.
Ayalon, who got to know Joe Biden and his inner circle well during his time in the U.S., says he does not believe there was a technical reason why the president did not call Netanyahu, as was cited by official sources.
"Biden has not called any of the leaders in the Middle East. It signals that for the United States, the Middle East has been placed way down on its list of priorities. The administration has global issues like the climate to deal with; the Middle East can wait,” says Ayalon.
“Even so, as a special ally to the U.S., Israel has always been an exceptional case when it comes to the Middle Eastern issue, that is why it is certainly unusual that Biden did not call Netanyahu for so long.”
Ayalon says that the reason also lies with Netanyahu’s close ties to Biden’s Republican predecessor.
“I think the special relationship - perhaps too special - that Netanyahu had with Donald Trump is a sticking point. It is perceived by Democrats as interfering in internal American political issues,” says Ayalon.
“It was important for Biden’s administration to announce - not to Israel, but to Netanyahu - that there’s a new sheriff in town who is changing the rules. Netanyahu will no longer get the gifts that Trump gave him wholesale.”
Ayalon is certain the new administration is a true friend of Israel, especially when it comes to the Iranian nuclear threat.
“Secretary of State Antony Blinken is truly a friend. He is Jewish. His friendship with Israel will continue in the strongest possible way. Biden says he himself is a true Zionist, so I don’t believe there is a reason to be worried,” says Ayalon.
The former ambassador says that while the Middle East has been largely sidelined, the Iranian issue is certainly a high priority. Biden has already spoken with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the leaders of all the world powers involved in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which was brokered by Barack Obama and abandoned by Trump.
"[Biden’s] approach is supervised and rational, and is based on cooperation and international alliances," Ayalon says. "He is also a very experienced man. He was on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee for 36 years, including several years as chairman of the committee.”
Ayalon acknowledges that while Biden has agreed to return the U.S. to the 2015 nuclear agreement it will not be under the previous terms of the deal
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