Joe Biden autographed a picture for Benjamin Netanyahu a long time ago. “Bibi, you are my love,” he remembers writing. “I disagree wholeheartedly with everything you say.”

For the past five months, this complex, best-of-frenemies relationship has been the center of the Gaza conflict. Sadly, Jerusalem has been saying to the US president, “He’s just not that into you.”

Following the 1,200-person Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, Biden reaffirmed his longstanding support for the nation by fully endorsing its government’s right to self-defense. Speaking or not, Biden’s embrace of the Israeli prime minister was meant to be accompanied by an agreement that Netanyahu would follow US guidance, exercise self control, and ease the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

It’s all give and no take, though, as the months have passed and the death toll has increased. When addressing the impact of Donald Trump, Biden frequently says, “This is not your father’s Republican party.” He has gradually come to terms with the fact that this is not your father’s Israeli government as well.

According to Aaron David Miller, a veteran state department analyst, negotiator, and adviser on Middle East matters who has served in multiple administrations, “We’re not dealing with the old Benjamin Netanyahu.” The risk-averse Israeli prime minister would move one step in the wrong direction, one step in the right direction, and one step aside.

We are dealing with an alternative manifestation. He puts his coalition first and is virtually anxious to hold onto it, even if it means running the danger of earning the mistrust and ire of the US president. Five months into this, you haven’t seen any expenses or penalties from the administration.

Biden Made an Unsuccessful Bid

Since the latter worked at the Israeli embassy in Washington and the former served in the Senate, Biden, 81, and Netanyahu, 74, have known one another for almost forty years. In 1988, Biden made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination before taking over as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

After serving as Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Netanyahu was elected prime minister in 1996 and has continued to hold the office on an alternating basis ever since. There have not always been pleasant relations with the US. Miller, who is currently a senior scholar at the think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, recalled Bill Clinton’s first meeting with Netanyahu in June 1996. He lost it. “Who’s the fucking superpower here?” he exclaimed. It’s not new to be frustrated with Benjamin Netanyahu.

When Biden served as vice president during Obama’s administration, tensions increased. US-Israel ties were described as being on the verge of a “full-blown crisis” in an Atlantic magazine article from 2014. However, Biden stated in the public that he and Netanyahu were “still buddies,” adding, “He’s been a friend for over 30 years.”

But the Israeli prime minister outwitted the Obama administration by criticizing a nuclear agreement that the United States and its allies were negotiating with Iran during a speech before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill. Obama and I never got back together.

Following the strike on October 7, Biden remained resolute in his Zionist declaration and made the appropriate trip to Israel to personally speak with Netanyahu and his war cabinet. It was a classic diplomatic ploy: hug Netanyahu firmly in public while pleading for moderation behind closed doors. According to the administration, Israel has followed its advice and taken action to reduce the number of civilian casualties.

However, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that the total number of Palestinian deaths from the conflict has topped 28,000, and Netanyahu has shown little interest in pursuing a long-term peace deal (rejecting calls for Palestinian sovereignty). Protests against war have broken out all throughout the United States, with protesters calling Biden “Genocide Joe” during his speeches. This might be disastrous during an election year.

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