US-Israel Cooperation ‘Only Getting Stronger’ Despite Cold Shoulder from White House, Israeli UN Ambassador Says
Ambassador Gilad Erdan says White House making a ‘serious mistake’ by not inviting Netanyahu. ‘This is not the way to behave between friends.’
By United with Israel staff
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan says the White House is making a “serious mistake” by not inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.
US President Joe Biden in March criticized Israel’s proposed judicial reforms, saying, “Like many strong supporters of Israel I’m very concerned. I’m concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road.”
He also emphasized he would not invite Netanyahu to the White House “in the near term.”
In a conversation with Besheva newspaper quoted over the weekend by Israel National News, Erdan called the decision “problematic.”
“This is a serious mistake by the Americans in my eyes. This is not the way to behave between friends, even when they disagree on issues. We are one of the closest allies the Americans have.
“There are always disputes, even within a family, but in the end everyone gets together at the holiday table. The visibility of such a situation has great importance,” Erdan said.
Still, Erdan does not believe the White House’s attitude has negatively affected US-Israel cooperation.
“I don’t feel any negative effect of this negative reality,” he said. “I work very closely with the US Ambassador to the United Nations on all issues, including the areas where we need their veto in the United Nations. They helped us a lot in the Nakba Day event and made sure that other senior countries did not come to this event.”
“They participated with me in the event we held at the United Nations to present Israel’s cyber capabilities, and only recently the largest military exercise ever held between the countries took place. I feel that our cooperation is only getting stronger, and we will get the seal of approval for this when Israel gets an exemption from visas, which is a move that I had the honor to start and initiate when I also served as Ambassador to the United States.”
Erdan also addressed reports about the possibility of a new nuclear deal between the US and Iran, whereby the US would lift some sanctions imposed on Iran when the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal.
“Unfortunately, this is not a scenario that is out of touch with reality,” he said. “It is very unfortunate, because today there is no longer an iota of doubt among anyone in the West that Iran is not complying with the agreement, has not complied with the agreement and has no interest in doing so in the future.”
“You cannot trust agreements with it and the Ayatollah regime has no interest in being a part of the family of nations. In Israel there is a complete consensus that the only way to stop Iran is not through agreements but rather through a credible military threat, along with political isolation and crippling sanctions.”
He added, though, that Biden respects Israel’s freedom to act against Iran.
“The President fully understands the reality and Israel’s concerns, and he understands that if Iran becomes a nuclear threshold state, Israel will have to act militarily, and he respects that.”
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