As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to set off for his historic first meeting on Feb. 15 with US President Donald Trump, a big fight broke out in the Israeli right about the message and agenda that Netanyahu should present to the US president. Standing on one side of the divide is HaBayit HaYehudi Chair Naftali Bennett, accompanied by a sizable group of right-wing Likud ministers, whom he tried to incite against the prime minister's compromising positions. On the opposing side is Netanyahu, who is much more realistic than Bennett but is afraid to be portrayed as a defeatist, who is reluctant to take advantage of these fortuitous circumstances to win historic achievements for the Israeli right from a supportive US president.
Netanyahu has one clear advantage over Bennett. Unlike the chairman of HaBayit HaYehudi, Netanyahu has already spoken with Trump by phone, and Netanyahu’s people, particularly Mossad Director Yossi Cohen, have already met with Trump's team on more than one occasion. Netanyahu was very disappointed by what he heard about these meetings, but he recognizes that he is forced to align himself with the new reality. According to various political sources, Netanyahu has said in internal conversations that Israel must do everything it can to avoid a conflict with Trump, no matter what the cost. He knows that Trump is cut from a totally different cloth than former President Barack Obama or former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The new president does not feel himself obliged to the most basic rules or common values shared by Israel and the United States, and his reactions could be especially unanticipated and painful.