LAS VEGAS—Prime Minister-in-waiting Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual confab, in a rare explicit example of a foreign leader addressing an advocacy group so closely associated with a political party.
Netanyahu, who received an exponentially louder round of applause than any Republican speaker, spent the majority of his fireside chat alongside RJC CEO Matt Brooks and RJC Board Chairman Norm Coleman receiving plaudits for his newly released memoir while highlighting his efforts fighting for Israel in the court of public opinion.
Currently in the midst of forming a governing coalition, Netanyahu called any differences of opinion with U.S. President Joe Biden ‘disagreements within the mishpacha [Hebrew for family]’ while noting that he has had disagreements with both Democratic and Republican administrations during his time as premier.
Netanyahu’s appearance comes amid long-standing criticism from his Israeli political opponents and Democratic Party officials that he is aligning too closely with the U.S. Republican Party and former U.S. President Donald Trump while harming Israel’s strategic goal of bipartisan U.S. support.
Brooks has previously noted “there’s not much daylight between Netanyahu and Republicans, at least Republican election leaders.”
“‘Rare show of partisanship’” applied to Bibi is one of the most bizarre and inaccurate headlines of all time,” former senior Obama administration advisor Ben Rhodes said regarding a Washington Post preview of the address. “Why is everyone shocked to find out (once again) that Bibi is partisan?”
This partisanship previously peaked during his 2015 address to Congress against the Iran nuclear deal – organized with Republican leadership behind the administration’s back, leading to numerous Democratic lawmakers to boycott the address and marking a point of no return for his relationship with much of the party.
"It wasn’t a simple decision," Netanyahu told the crowd while noting that he respected Obama despite their disagreements. “I said I would do everything in my power to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” he continued. “If that meant taking a stand against a sitting administration then so we did it, but not haphazardly.”
Netanyahu, who said Gulf states expressed shock to him over his conduct regarding the 2015 address, made a point to explicitly praise Obama for the 2015 memorandum of understanding stipulating U.S. military aid to Israel.
However, he offered deeper praise for Trump (to the crowd’s applause), saying he was “tremendously fortunate to finally have an American administration” who agreed with him over Iran.
Miriam Adelson, the RJC’s primary patron, has had her own complex relationship with Netanyahu. She and her late husband, GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson, were among Netanyahu’s key supporters prior to a falling out that coincided with the criminal investigations against the former premier.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Saturday.Credit: John Locher/AP
She told police investigating one of the corruption investigations that she was “utterly furious” that he was not eager to form a coalition in 2015 with Habayit Hayehudi due to Sara Netanyahu’s personal feelings toward Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked.
The relationship was further strained when it was revealed Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes discussed ways of reducing the circulation of Adelson-owned Israel Hayom, which has been widely viewed as an unofficial personal donation from the Adelsons to Netanyahu due to its fawning coverage.
Adelson, whose family spent $90 million on Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign and donated at least $10 million to the Republican midterm effort, has reportedly pledged to sit out the 2024 GOP primary.
Netanyahu’s address comes at a summit where both Trump and leading Republican officials are jockeying for prime position in the 2024 presidential primary race.
Based on the crowd’s reception of Netanyahu, a key candidate trait will be willingness to cooperate with a future Netanyahu government – a willingness that the Biden administration is internally debating as he mulls which portfolios to distribute to his far-right allies.
Netanyahu also used his speech to attack the Palestinians, saying they “don’t want peace with Israel, they don’t want a state next to Israel. They want a state instead of Israel” – remarks that will likely not sit well with the current administration that has stressed avoiding any rhetoric that harms a potential two-state solution.