The Only Word That Biden Won’t say in Israel

The Only word That Biden won’t say in Israel

Joe Biden has mostly ignored or reduced talk about his immediate president, He used to call him the former person. Biden can’t escape Trump’s legacy while visiting Israel, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia. Biden stayed at the King David hotel, where the prior president’s ostentatious signature sits in the foyer. Non-physical reminders also exist. Israeli and other Middle Eastern leaders aren’t fooled by Trump’s first foreign trip, while Biden waited a year and a half to visit.

Trump declared Jerusalem Israel’s capital. He ended U.S. consulate relations with the Palestinians. His policies made a Palestinian state practically impossible and gave Israel more Arab sympathizers. Biden reluctantly accepts this new reality and will do little to change it in Israel. Trump tossed convention to be the first to visit the Western Wall and put his name immediately on an American embassy in Jerusalem, whose courtyard is dedicated to his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Biden wants to prove the U.S.-Israeli relationship is stable before flying to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Biden won’t say, Trump. I thought he’d avoid that name. Like Candyman, claimed former Trump administration National Security Council official Kirsten Fontenrose. He won’t compare and also can’t afford Arab press comparisons of their policies. Why mention Trump? Also, the senior fellow of the middle east Institute Randa Slim claimed that she doesn’t see any added value for the American president doing that.

Biden may not reference his predecessor. His team has touted a rare area of agreement with the former man. The Biden administration has accepted the Trump-backed Abraham Accords to enhance Israel’s relations with Arab countries and better incorporate it into the Middle East. The Trump White House mediated these treaties, which repaired Israel’s relations with Bahrain, the UAE, and Morocco.

Arab states refused to negotiate with Israel until the Palestinians had their own state. The Abraham Accords separated Arab-Israeli relations from the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Biden wants to continue Trump’s work. An administration official told POLITICO, We support the Abraham Accords and normalization agreements between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries.

Biden aides privately admit Trump’s deals have cooled the Middle East. The president wants to bring Israel and Saudi Arabia closer together, possibly toward their own Abraham Accord. While Biden is in the region, Israeli authorities are reticent to address Trump.POLITICO asked Israeli officials before the visit if they were happy Biden is continuing Trump’s agenda of keeping the embassy in Jerusalem and building on normalization treaties.

None would remark on the background. A seventh Israeli official said, Of course, we’re thrilled that Biden hasn’t shifted direction on Trump’s regional policy adjustments. Biden reversed certain Trump Middle East moves. It returned hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian money and re-established a diplomatic conduit, even if it hasn’t re-opened the consulate.