The shocking scene in the Oval Office on Friday, during which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was lambasted in front of the entire world by U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, carried important significance for Israel, perhaps more than any other country apart from Ukraine itself.
It's hard to think of another country that relies so heavily on American support as much as Israel. For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the showdown between Trump and Zelenskyy must have been petrifying to watch. Right now, Netanyahu is in Trump's good graces, but he knows very well that every word that the U.S. president told Ukraine's leader in front of the cameras could have been said to him regarding Israel's war against Hamas and Hezbollah, not to mention its decades-long fight against Iran.
Even more than that, Netanyahu should be concerned by the reaction of several prominent Republican senators, who until the Trump-Zelenskyy brawl were fierce defenders of Ukraine, but in its aftermath, chose to delete posts about meeting the Ukrainian president from their social media accounts, or to call for Zelenskyy's resignation. No one should have any doubt that these politicians, who fear Trump's wrath more than anything else, would shift their positions on Israel in a second in case the president did.
For now, there are no signs that Trump is about to do this. He applied pressure on Netanyahu before entering the White House to accept the Gaza cease-fire deal that has allowed for the release of 33 hostages so far, but is now looking the other way while Netanyahu breaks the terms of the deal and threatens to renew the war. Instead of insisting that the deal be implemented in full, Trump has given Netanyahu free rein to break and bend it.
But there is no guarantee that this will remain his policy in the long run, and Netanyahu knows it. Trump still hopes to achieve a grand peace agreement in the Middle East, and sooner or later, he may realize that Netanyahu's constant surrender to his fanatic coalition partners is pushing that dream farther away.
It's also important to remember that unike Zelenskyy, who emerged from the Trump shakedown stronger domestically for standing up to the president, Netanyahu simply can't afford a fight with Trump, who is much more popular than him among Israelis.
Not only that, but Zelensky flew from Washington directly to London, where he was greeted as a hero by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. A long list of European leaders have also expressed their support in the aftermath of the disastrous White House meeting. But if Trump turns on Netanyahu, no world leader will stand by the Israeli premier – in fact, most important heads of state will rejoice. Netanyahu is loathed even by Israel's strongest and most loyal allies.
The real question is whether or not Trump understands the amount of leverage he has over Netanyahu – and for what purpose he is planning to use it.