WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) — U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to talk Monday at the White House in their first meeting since their public disharmony over the Iran nuclear agreement.
Obama and Netanyahu will attempt to improve relations, but the often-contentions relationship between the leaders comes as one of Netanyahu’s recently appointed spokespeople, Ran Baratz, suggested on Facebook that Obama was “anti-Semitic. He also compared Secretary of State John Kerry’s mental state to one of a preteen.
Baratz was forced to apologize.
“These postings were written hastily and sometimes humorously, in a manner appropriate for a private person writing on the Internet,” Baratz said. “It is clear to me that in a government position one must act and express oneself differently.”
Although the apology was accepted by the White House, Vice President Joe Biden spoke harshly on Saturday at the Union for Reform Judaism convention in Orlando, Fla.
“There is no excuse, there should be no tolerance for any member or employee of the Israeli administration referring to the president of United States in derogatory terms. Period, period, period, period,” Biden said.
One of the central issues in the discussion between leaders will be the renewal of the 10-year memorandum of understanding agreement between the United States and Israel that expires in 2017.
Through the deal, Israel receives $3.1 billion a year in funding from the United States. Netanyahu seeks to increase funding to $5 billion for the 10-year span.
“I believe that this meeting is important in order to clarify the continuation of American aid to Israel in the coming decade. It will be another step toward realizing an understanding in this direction,” Netanyahu said Sunday at a cabinet meeting. “My conversation with the president will center on recent events in the Middle East, including in Syria, possible progress with the Palestinians, or at least stabilizing the situation with them, and, of course, strengthening the security of the State of Israel, which the U.S. has always been committed to, while maintaining the State of Israel’s comparative advantage in the face of a changing Middle East.”
Obama will also attempt to ease Israeli concerns over the recent Iranian nuclear agreement. Netanyahu previously said the nuclear deal could pave the way for Israel’s destruction, while Obama said Netanyahu is “wrong” and that diplomacy and a deal was necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu will deliver speeches at the American Enterprise Institute, the annual Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly and the Center for American Progress during his trip before flying back to Israel on Wednesday.
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