It happened back at Ben Gurion Airport, and the surprising speaker was none other than one of Naftali Bennett's close associates. "Poor thing, what he gets from the media. It's unbelievable what they're doing to him. They're killing him." We met by chance at the terminal, and the former adviser did not complain about the treatment of his boss, but about the way the media handled the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. "There is no comparison to the treatment we had. We were spoiled," he added.
Indeed, a very large part of the upheaval Israel is experiencing stems from the fact that its mainstream media has ceased to do its job. It does not cover, or even criticize, but simply tells the people of Israel a story that is completely detached from reality.
Most of the channels and websites tell the people of Israel about a "regime coup," while the government is carrying out a vital legal reform, which most of the public also wants. They "report" a deterioration in the economic situation, without saying that there is an active appeal by the government's opponents to wealthy people around the world not to invest in Israel. And of course, the point of view of most of the editorial boards and broadcasters is anti-government and pro-protest. Therefore, violence by demonstrators passes as if nothing, blocking transportation routes has become legitimate, and the internal damage to the IDF is blamed on the government, not the generals and activists who promoted and laundered insubordination in an unprecedented manner. In short, it is both the opponents of the government who are trying to destroy the country from within, and the channels that do not report it.
A lot of intelligence, and not just artificial
All this background is important in order to understand the gap between the way Netanyahu's visit to the United States was presented to the public and what really took place there. You could say that what happened in America stayed in America, but in the negative sense of the phrase. For example, everyone pumped that the state of relations between Biden and Netanyahu is terrible and that the president is boycotting the prime minister and even preventing him from meeting at the White House. What are the facts?
During his time at the UN General Assembly in New York, Biden held only two bilateral meetings. The first with Brazilian President Lula, and the second with the Israeli prime minister. In addition, he attended a reception for all the leaders who came to the rally, and held a joint meeting with five leaders from Central Asia. He also held two campaign fundraisers.
Netanyahu-Biden meeting in New York
In other words, not only was Netanyahu not downgraded, but out of 160 heads of state who attended the largest UN General Assembly in years, only he and one other leader received a personal meeting with the American president. What can I tell you, another downgrade like this and we're lost.
The same goes for the fascinating encounter with the billionaire entrepreneur and one of the most influential people in the world. To be honest, none of the journalists who mediated the meeting between Netanyahu and Elon Musk and the other geniuses had a clue about artificial intelligence. Neither do I.
On Monday morning, after a 14-hour flight to San Jose, Netanyahu sat down for a square panel with Musk, Greg Brockman and Max Tegmark. Brockman is a 35-year-old man with wisdom pouring out of his ears who co-founded Open AI and still runs it. He is the partner of Sam Altman, the Jew who refused to meet Netanyahu when he recently visited Israel.
In Israel, one gets the impression that in Silicon Valley the important things were only demonstrations by descendants and driving a Tesla truck, but nothing substantial. The reality, both there and in New York, was 180 degrees opposite
Tegmark is a professor of future life at the elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), of which Netanyahu is one of the most famous alumni. Tegmark wrote the book "Our Mathematical Universe," the only Israeli in the room who read it was, well, Netanyahu. In short, it was a 50-minute conversation by four very smart people, who touched on the most difficult moral and scientific questions about artificial intelligence, and especially the fear that it would do evil in the world, instead of good. The guests praised the advancement of Israeli technology, and Musk even responded positively to Netanyahu's request to open an extension of his artificial intelligence company XAI in Israel.
Home court
But all this heavy content is not well photographed, does not click, has nothing to do with legal reform, and does not fit in with the narrative that Netanyahu is bad, troubled with the trial, and held captive by extremists, and so on and so forth. Therefore, all this is not told to the people living in Zion, but rather focused on the easy comfort zone of the legal reform – about which nothing new has been said – or inventing embarrassments that were not as if Musk, who devoted half a day to Netanyahu, did not want to meet him. Thus in Israel one gets the impression that in Silicon Valley the important things were only demonstrations by descendants and a joint ride of the two in Tesla's cyber truck, but nothing substantial. The reality, both there at the Tesla factory and in New York, was 180 degrees opposite.
Because indeed, there were some demonstrations, and it is also true that Netanyahu slipped his tongue when he said that the Israeli demonstrators "joined" the PLO and the Iranians. But Netanyahu was not wrong in saying that "the demonstrations are breaking all the borders," in blocking roads, in encouraging rejectionism, and now in protests against Israel abroad. More importantly, his trip to the United States was very strenuous and successful.
Musk in a meeting with Netanyahu and his wife, photo: Avi Ohayon
After the short day in California, he didn't stay the night, but took off for New York. The distance and time difference meant that we landed in the Big Apple only at 4 a.m., meaning we spent two nights in a row by plane. Upon arriving in New York early Tuesday morning, he immediately began preparing the day of meetings he had anticipated with the German chancellor and the presidents of South Korea, Paraguay, Ukraine and Turkey, the important conversation with Biden on Wednesday and, of course, Friday's speech. Anyone who thinks that at the age of 73 Netanyahu has slowed down is mistaken.
And not only did he not slow down, he flourished. It was evident that he relished the semi-philosophical conversation with the AI experts, and the political meetings at the UN – the arena in which his capabilities are maximized. A small comic moment in the conversation with Musk made it clear how addicted he is to work. Many predict that artificial intelligence will replace human labor in many fields, and Netanyahu as head of state was concerned that this would mean mass idleness. Musk tried to calm things down, saying, "In the positive scenario, the age of artificial intelligence will be paradise. People will not have to work, life will be calm. Robots will do anything." But Netanyahu, a well-known workaholic, was alarmed. "And you want such a world?!" he asked rhetorically.
Domestic policy
This whole atmosphere was just a preview of the climax – the meeting between Biden and Netanyahu. After ten months of distance and anger from the administration, this meeting heralded nothing less than a revolution. A meeting that was originally intended to take place with the teams turned into a lengthy private conversation. It was conducted "like a conversation between old friends," as Biden described his decades-long ties with Netanyahu.
The prime minister, for his part, was under the impression that Biden may be physically old, but that he is cognitively doing well, despite the fact that the president made sure to read his remarks in a statement to the media from flashcards. The first read, "I hope to see you back in the White House by the end of the year." That is, not only is there a first meeting, but immediately a second will come. Among them, immediately after Yom Kippur, both countries are expected to celebrate the visa exemption for Israelis to enter the United States.
The question arises, what happened here? Why has coolness turned into warmth, that half a boycott has been replaced by a double meeting, and that American criticism and anger have given way to a big embrace?
The answer was provided many years ago by the legendary US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, when he said specifically about Israel, "It has no foreign policy, only domestic considerations." Well, Kissinger was right in describing the phenomenon, but he was wrong about the identity of the state. For it is the United States of these years that determines its moves in the international arena as a result of domestic considerations.
Until recently, Biden thought it would be politically worthwhile to distance Netanyahu, since progressive circles in his party and many in the Jewish community wanted it. But the elections are approaching, and the polls have pushed him into a corner. A year before Judgment Day, his situation among swing voters is not good. Trump is breathing down the back of his neck, and in some polls even overtaking him. In other words, in order to win the next election, Biden must turn right, toward those who might support his Republican opponents.
Bin Salman in an interview with Fox News, Photo: Reuters
Who is the man who is known in almost every home in America, and especially popular in Republican circles, and who may be able to garner a few more votes? The answer is Benjamin Netanyahu. Thus, "Bibi," as Biden calls him, went from enemy to lover.
Added to the political need is the geopolitical interest of curbing China. Mohammed bin Salman's moves toward closer relations with Xi Jinping were well received in Washington. Nearly three years late, Biden realized he had to take significant steps to keep the Arab Gulf states in America's lap. He began seriously discussing the possibility of an American-Saudi agreement that would include normalization with Israel, which could also improve his standing in the polls if he achieves his goal.
It must be said that Netanyahu also paid a price to bring about a turnaround in Biden's attitude toward him. Its essence is ignoring the severe agreement Biden reached with Iran, on enriching uranium to 60 percent, and paying billions of dollars to murderers from Tehran. It seems that the IDF's restraint in Judea and Samaria, as well as the cabinet's decision to "strengthen the Palestinian Authority," are happening because of pressure from the administration. Biden's pressure to reach an internal consensus on the issue of legal reform, and Netanyahu's willingness to adopt the position, were also part of the Israeli shift.
Middle East New 2.0
All these processes drained into the sages in American-Israeli relations. Almost a year after the establishment of the government in which Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are members, the Biden administration is accepting its existence and strengthening ties with it. This in itself is not a bad start to the new year, which, after the successful week in the US, marks a new beginning for Netanyahu. He stepped out of the corner to which the protest had pushed him, returned to dictate the agenda instead of being dragged behind it, and once again emphasized his relative advantages as a renowned statesman.
Nearly a year after the government was formed, the Biden administration is coming to terms with its existence. After the successful week in the US, the start of the year marks a new beginning for Netanyahu. He stepped out of the corner where the protest had pushed him
All this was the crowning glory of "Peace with Saudi Arabia." It was a coincidence that a few hours after his and Biden's declarations about the prospect of "making history," Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, made his historic remarks on Fox News about "an agreement that is approaching every day." But the concentration of statements that day certainly played into Netanyahu's hands.
Is peace with Saudi Arabia imminent? The answer is no. A senior American official and a senior Israeli official, who briefed the media at the same time, said similar things about the many difficulties on the way to an agreement. "Normalization is a very complicated issue. No one ever said it was just around the corner. We have made progress, but it is typical that there are difficulties," the senior U.S. official said.
The Israeli official estimated that there is a 50 percent chance of reaching an agreement with the Saudis. "There is an interest and desire on the part of the three countries (the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel) to reach an agreement. But there are obstacles and they are not few. Their size should not be underestimated, but there is a desire to overcome them. We must first see that this agreement meets the interests of both sides, and only then see if it can be passed in the Senate," the official said.
These are a range of interrelated issues – the direct agreement between the U.S. and the Saudis, which itself includes many components, the agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and Israel's position on the security reward that America will give bin Salman. And of course the explosive Palestinian component, which could endanger everything. With regard to him, Netanyahu does not intend to change his worldview, and will not turn his skin for the Nobel Prize. Or, as the official put it, "The agreement will not endanger Israel's security. There will be no compromise on this. The Palestinians should be part of the process, but we must not give them a veto on the process."
How to square the circle, only Allah knows. What is certain is that only after these problems are resolved is it necessary to pass the agreement in the three countries. Simple or quick it won't be. But even if the agreement is still far away, there is no turning back. Bin Salman's remarks echo Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's historic declaration that he is willing to visit the Knesset.
As then, the declaration heralds the beginning of the process, not its end, and the obstacles are still many. But there is no turning back from this week's developments, so much so that those around Netanyahu dared, albeit cautiously, to use the loaded term issued by Shimon Peres in the 90s: "a new Middle East."
This time there is reason to believe that the vision will not evaporate in the smoke of the exploding buses, but sooner or later will reach the planned destination. Peace between the Jews and the largest and richest Arab kingdom, Saudi Arabia.
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