Everyone sees the legal reform differently: some see it as the beginning of a dictatorship, some see it as necessary but not urgent, and some see it as a crushing loss for the right wing to the protesters. It all depends on the position.
Demonstration in New York ahead of Netanyahu-Biden meeting // Ariel Kahane
Netanyahu's meeting with Biden will have the same thing happen – his opponents will argue that the fact that nine months without such a meeting is a bad omen for Netanyahu, as well as the fact that it is not taking place in the White House. And that the fact that the president of the United States has put legal reform on the table is a total failure.
Netanyahu's supporters will see it differently – that after all the talk of American rage, the very meeting with Biden is a success; that the fact that reform was not at the center of affairs is also a positive sign; Most importantly, they will cite the discourse on a possible peace agreement with Saudi Arabia as an achievement.
The talk of a possible peace agreement with Saudi Arabia is an achievement. Mohammed bin Salman, photo: AFP
The truth consists of both perceptions, with a slight advantage in Netanyahu's favor: a meeting with the president after nine months is indeed an unlikely situation, Netanyahu would have given up on addressing the reform, and the demonstrations do not add to the festivities. However, amid the mountains of words, accusations, attacks and nightmare scenarios, Netanyahu can leave this visit smiling. The people who expected Biden to "give a heads-up" to Netanyahu on the reform were wrong. It could have been brutal, even in diplomatic terms: Biden could attack, reprimand, say "I'm worried" — and settled for a low-temperature furry phrase when he said, "We'll talk about checks and balances."
Beyond that, the public promise of a firm stance against Iran is significant and important, but especially significant is the reference to Saudi Arabia. In the past, talk of a peace agreement with an Arab state was imaginary: the Palestinian mud was too thick and imprisoned us in Jenin and Ramallah. When the Abraham Accords broke into our lives, many were surprised - the sheikh spoke about history and this was no exaggeration, busy airlines depart from Israel to Dubai and Bahrain, cyber and logistics companies, hotels and even a few kosher restaurants opened on the soil of a declared Arab state, television celebrated, live broadcasts of the signing ceremonies were published, and there were even unforgettable attempts by Israeli reporters to break into the broadcasts of their colleagues from Dubai.
Bad news for Smotrich,
Saudi Arabia is a few steps above. This is a signal to the entire Arab world of Israel's new status, security interests, and an unprecedented economic breakthrough. The fact that Biden and Netanyahu are talking about it openly, publicly, with optimism for a move that is expected to take place just around the corner, is dramatic news.
The good meeting with Biden and the significant discourse on Saudi Arabia are bad news for Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, that nothing will stop Netanyahu on the way to a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia. Nothing. The grounds of reasonableness, the reform and even the judicial selection committee will not stop Netanyahu. His top priorities are Iran, the bomb and peace with Saudi Arabia. He wants to leave behind a legacy of peace agreements.
To reach the goal - everything is kosher. A week ago, Netanyahu rolled Ben-Gvir down all the stairs when the latter sought to worsen the prisoners' conditions. Netanyahu is not afraid of the Religious Zionist party, because in the current polling situation, everyone knows that they have nowhere else to go. If Smotrich and Ben-Gvir stand between Netanyahu and a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia, they will lose.
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