US President Joe Biden’s first phone call with a Middle East leader will be with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a White House spokersperson stated on Tuesday. Press Secretary Jen Psaki did not commit to an exact date, but said the call would take place “soon.”
Biden has called the heads of other US allies, but has not spoken with any Middle Eastern countries. The lack of an official phone call with Jerusalem since Biden took office last month has raised eyebrows in Israel and the United States. Previous Presidents called the Israeli PM within days of their inaugurations.
The White House previously stated that the President is not intentionally snubbing Netanyahu. On Tuesday, Psaki confirmed that the Biden Administration is “fully engaged” and already has “constant conversations at many levels with the Israelis.”
Earlier this week, Netanyahu downplayed the issue in a television interview. “We’ve had friendly relations for nearly 40 years. We know each other and there are a lot of things we agree on. There are also disagreements on the matter of Iran and the Palestinians,” Netanyahu responded when asked about the lack of a phone call from Biden.
In the same TV segment, he vowed to oppose those who disagree with his hawkish stance towards Iran. “Whoever supports our policies, I’m with him,” Bibi said. “And whoever endangers us, for example [on policies] regarding a nuclear Iran, which is an existential threat to us, so I oppose that, and I don’t care if it’s Democrats.”
Responding to Israeli training exercises this week, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened the Jewish state once again. According to reports, Nasrallah said that “no one can guarantee that it won’t lead to war.” In this future conflict, “Israel will see things it hasn’t seen since its inception,” the Lebanese terrorist leader was quoted as saying.
Israel’s military launched a surprise air force drill Sunday night in the country’s north, amid preparations for a potential confrontation with the Iranian terror proxy. The exercise called “Galilee Rose” is set to conclude on Wednesday and will test the Israeli Air Force’s ability to maintain aerial superiority, protect the Jewish state’s skies, as well as gather intelligence.
In the first days of the drill, the IDF proved its ability to strike 3,000 targets in Lebanon within 24 hours. In response, Nasrallah claimed that the terror group is “not interested in conflict or war, but if you force it upon us, we will fight.”
Experts estimate that Hezbollah has tens of thousands of rockets and missiles that are capable of hitting virtually any place in Israel.
Israeli ministers on Tuesday convened for an urgent meeting about a “humanitarian issue” involving Syria. Although a gag order was imposed on the cabinet meeting, Israeli media reported that Russia, a vital ally of the regime in Damascus, is involved in the matter.
According to reports, there have been ongoing contacts between Jerusalem and Moscow about the secretive issue. Over the last few weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi discussed it with their respective Russian counterparts.
Russia, a powerful actor in Syria after it backed the Assad regime, has acted as a go-between for Israel and Syria before. Two years ago, Russian soldiers helped secure the remains of Sgt. Zachary Baumel, an Israeli soldier who went missing in Syria during the First Lebanon War in 1982.
More recently, Syrian media reported that the Russian military was holding excavations at a cemetery around Damascus, purportedly searching for the remains of another soldier gone missing during the 1982 conflict.
The closure of Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport left tourists and those with family in Israel unable to visit the country. For all those eager to once again see the Tel Aviv coastline, the Holy City of Jerusalem, or the snowy Mount Hermon, view these breathtaking photos by photographer Eyal Asaf.
Asaf uses traditional cameras, as well as drones, to capture his stunning shots of Israeli nature and landscapes. “I photograph only in Israel to show it to the world in the most beautiful way,” he says about his work.
The complete gallery can be viewed here.
HonestReporting Panel Discussion and Q&A: ‘Antisemitism: From Media to the UN’s Halls of Power’
On February 21, learn about the intersection of antisemitism in the media and the United Nations. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry recently released its annual report on antisemitism, which warned of a resurgence of Jew-hatred worldwide in 2021.
This exclusive webinar will explore the manner in which the dissemination of antisemitic tropes, as outlined by the widely accepted IHRA definition, by news outlets bleeds into many spheres, perhaps most importantly the diplomatic one.
The event will provide you with the tools required both to identify and oppose antisemitism when it appears in news outlets, and inform you of the consequences it can have on the formulation of policy at the international level.
- The Truth About Financial Aid to the Palestinian Authority (Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies)
- Meat Alternative Startup Redefine Meat Raises $29M (Noga Martin, Israel Hayom)
- Russian-Israeli Tennis Player Aslan Karatsev Makes History at the Australian Open (Emily Burack, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
- Superman Was There When Jews Needed Him Most (Harold Brackman, Algemeiner)
