Biden expects Netanyahu to be in charge; Smotrich complicated things

The tone of the US State Department in recent days makes it clear: There is no room for more gaffes.

By  Shirit Avitan Cohen, ISRAEL HAYOM

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is trying very hard to smother the flames of the fire he ignited by his statement that called for Hawara must be “erased.” He uncharacteristically released two clarifications – a tweet, and an urgent interview on Saturday night on the “Meet the Press” program – showing that he understood the potential damage of his statement. To date, it is hard to say that he has succeeded in achieving his goal.

The Americans have been extra-testy in their relationship with Israel for the past week or so. The condemnation by the US State Department is serious. Ambassador Thomas Nides’ joke that he will “throw him out of the plane,” even though it was said in a tasteless manner, also expresses US dissatisfaction – and there are those who assume that it was done on purpose.

The Biden administration has made it clear several times that they expect Benjamin Netanyahu and other government officials to renounce Smotrich’s statement, but so far it is not working in their favor. Netanyahu has not voiced any public condemnation or rebuff. He gives his Finance Minister the “honor” of doing this himself, not only because he does not want to taint his own name, but perhaps mainly due to the political tensions within the government here in Israel. Netanyahu is juggling several crises in his government: dealing with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the United Torah Judaism party and the situation with former minister Arye Deri. He also does not need any confrontation of relations with his current senior partner in the government hanging over his head.

On the other hand, with the establishment of the government and the pertaining concerns, the US administration received a promise from Netanyahu that he was “keeping control.” The Americans want to see this promise fulfilled even when a government minister makes a gaffe. Despite Israel’s ability to create far-reaching crises, the Biden administration is separating its anger at Smotrich from continued cooperation on Israel’s urgent security issues.

Smotrich’s trip to the US at the beginning of next week will be an acid test for the continuation of the Hawara eruption in the US, mainly in dealings with the administration and less in regard to the Jewish organizations that are condemning him.

But ultimately, Smotrich wants to depict his image as the responsible adult here in Israel. There is good reason for the fact that over the past week he has been calling on the coalition heads to conduct themselves responsibly within the government. In the past, Smotrich was the one who was not willing to pay a price for his membership in the government; today he is seeking to separate himself from Ben-Gvir.

To really achieve this, he will have to be even more careful about not getting caught up again in a storm of controversial statements, even when he is overwhelmed by stormy emotions. As he wrote in a letter last week to his associates in the government: let’s show restraint and act responsibly.