They say diplomacy is the art of the possible. Therefore, even in the face of our national divide in the tense relations between the Israeli government and the American administration, there are political options. There are precedents that attest to this, even recent ones.
In 2010, for example, President Obama demanded an immediate freeze on Israeli construction in the West Bank for ten months. Despite the objections of the Israeli government at the time and the political difficulty in acceding to Obama's demand, the prime minister agreed to the freeze on condition that at the end of the ten months the US administration would not ask for an extension. At the end of this period, the US demanded that the freeze be continued for at least another three months, which put the Israeli government in a very difficult position.
After frantic negotiations, government representatives and White House envoys reached a compromise: Israel would agree to the US offer in exchange for the sale of the first F-35 fighter jets to be supplied to the IDF, at a reduced price.
"Above any controversy": President Herzog addresses US-Israel relations // Credit: GPO
Thanks to these negotiations, we proved that through diplomacy, almost anything is possible.This principle was proven again in 2020 with the signing of the Abraham Accords. The Israeli government allegedly undertook, in coordination with the Trump administration, to annex Area C of the West Bank. This move would have cast doubt on the establishment of relations with the Gulf states, which were on the agenda at the time. The diplomats stepped in and offered a deal: In return for giving up the annexation plan, Israel would receive diplomatic relations first with the United Arab Emirates, then with Bahrain, and later with Sudan and Morocco. This deal allowed the prime minister to explain to annexation supporters: "It's true that we made a painful concession, but in return we received something that changed the game financially and strategically."
The question now is this: Is there anything in return that the prime minister can receive in order to withdraw, even if only slightly, from advancing the legal reform?
President Herzog and Secretary of State Blinken meet, photo: President's House Spokesperson's Office
In one possible scenario, President Herzog, in his private conversations with Biden, could raise several possibilities. One of them could be the removal of the need for visas, on which the US administration's position has actually hardened in recent days. A second proposal is an American commitment to improve our strategic capabilities in the face of the Iranian nuclear threat. A third possibility: the White House's willingness to accede to the Saudis' request for American arms packages, thereby paving the way for the establishment of relations between Jerusalem and Riyadh.
Diplomacy is indeed the art of the possible, but it is important to note that it is not a miraculous solution to every political impasse. There may be an appropriate return from the Americans, but it may not be sufficient for the members of the coalition on the one hand, nor for those who oppose it on the other. Nonetheless, President Herzog has an opportunity of security importance, as well as of supreme moral importance, to try.
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