Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday for about 30 minutes.
The leaders shared very brief remarks on how long they have known each other, adding that Biden’s first encounter with an Israeli prime minister was Golda Meir, about 50 years ago.
“Mr. President, we have known each other for 40 years, and you’ve known every Israeli prime minister for 50 years, from Golda Meir,” Netanyahu said. “From a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish-American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel.”
“I look forward to it as well,” Biden responded. “That first meeting with Prime Minister Golda Meir, and she had an assistant sitting next to me, a guy named Rabin, that’s how far back it goes,” he said referring to former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Netanyahu is one of the first high-profile figures Biden has met with since he announced he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. The meeting was the first time Biden hosted Israel’s prime minister in the White House since Netanyahu was reelected in 2022.
The two leaders will also meet with families of American hostages held captive in Gaza by Hamas.
Relations between the two leaders have grown tense in recent years after Biden opposed Israeli judicial reform and held up weapon shipments with aerial bombs for the Israeli Defense Forces.
After Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles and bombs in April, Biden told Netanyahu he would not support a counterattack. Instead, Biden praised the successful interception of most projectiles as a “win” and warned against escalation.
Netanyahu was originally scheduled to meet with Biden on Tuesday but the meeting was delayed due to the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis.
Netanyahu praised Biden during his joint-address to Congress on Wednesday, thanking him for condemning Hamas after October 7, sending two aircraft carriers, and calling himself a “proud Irish-American Zionist.”
“He came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour—a visit that will never be forgotten,” Netanyahu said. “President Biden and I have known each other for over 40 years. I want to thank him for half a century of friendship to Israel.”
During his speech, Netanyahu requested the United States speed up weapons shipments to help them defeat Hamas quicker and proposed creating an “Abraham Alliance” between Israel and Arab states to combat Iran and its proxies.
Outside the speech blocks away, anti-Israel and anti-American protesters lowered American flags from the poles outside Union Station, burnt them while shouting “Allahu Akbar” and “burn that sh**.” The flags were replaced with Palestinian flags until several House Republicans restored Old Glory on the poles Wednesday night.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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[[{“value”:”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday for about 30 minutes.
The leaders shared very brief remarks on how long they have known each other, adding that Biden’s first encounter with an Israeli prime minister was Golda Meir, about 50 years ago.
“Mr. President, we have known each other for 40 years, and you’ve known every Israeli prime minister for 50 years, from Golda Meir,” Netanyahu said. “From a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish-American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel.”
“I look forward to it as well,” Biden responded. “That first meeting with Prime Minister Golda Meir, and she had an assistant sitting next to me, a guy named Rabin, that’s how far back it goes,” he said referring to former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Netanyahu is one of the first high-profile figures Biden has met with since he announced he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. The meeting was the first time Biden hosted Israel’s prime minister in the White House since Netanyahu was reelected in 2022.
The two leaders will also meet with families of American hostages held captive in Gaza by Hamas.
Relations between the two leaders have grown tense in recent years after Biden opposed Israeli judicial reform and held up weapon shipments with aerial bombs for the Israeli Defense Forces.
After Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles and bombs in April, Biden told Netanyahu he would not support a counterattack. Instead, Biden praised the successful interception of most projectiles as a “win” and warned against escalation.
Netanyahu was originally scheduled to meet with Biden on Tuesday but the meeting was delayed due to the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis.
Netanyahu praised Biden during his joint-address to Congress on Wednesday, thanking him for condemning Hamas after October 7, sending two aircraft carriers, and calling himself a “proud Irish-American Zionist.”
“He came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour—a visit that will never be forgotten,” Netanyahu said. “President Biden and I have known each other for over 40 years. I want to thank him for half a century of friendship to Israel.”
During his speech, Netanyahu requested the United States speed up weapons shipments to help them defeat Hamas quicker and proposed creating an “Abraham Alliance” between Israel and Arab states to combat Iran and its proxies.
Outside the speech blocks away, anti-Israel and anti-American protesters lowered American flags from the poles outside Union Station, burnt them while shouting “Allahu Akbar” and “burn that sh**.” The flags were replaced with Palestinian flags until several House Republicans restored Old Glory on the poles Wednesday night.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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