Almost a month has passed since US President Joe Biden was sworn into office, and he has still yet to call Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Professor Avi Ben-Zvi, head of the Diplomacy Program at the University of Haifa and winner of the Israel Prize, commented on the incoming president's priorities and expressed his opinion on the issue in an interview with 103 FM Radio. "This is payback for Netanyahu's speech to Congress - which Biden boycotted. It sends the message to Israel: don't try to play the same game and don't interfere."
Biden's continued delay in contacting the leader of Israel has raised serious concerns in Israel. Yesterday, former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon tweeted Netanyahu's phone number, calling on US President Joe Biden to finally call the Israeli premier.
"POTUS Joe Biden, you have called world leaders from Canada, Mexico, UK, India, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Russia," Danon tweeted.
"Might it now be time to call the leader of Israel, the closest ally of the US? The PM's number is: 972-2-6705555," he added.
Following criticism over his tweet, Danon said in an interview with Galai Tzhal (IDF Radio) today: "I accept the criticism, and it may be that the choice of words was not successful - but I still believe in the message."
"I did not write the tweet myself. There was no teasing or excited call in the tweet. I mentioned facts - the president-elect has not yet called the closest ally to the United States, unlike previous presidents. Obama, for example, called after four days. I believe Biden will work in exemplary fashion with Netanyahu, who will be elected in a few weeks. I met him when he was a presidential candidate, and at every meeting he told me, 'Say hi to my friend Netanyahu.' Now he's conveyed a message, the message has passed - we need to move forward," Danon added.