Netanyahu has history on his mind
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He also has a better understanding of U.S. politics than many American politicians. His speech to a joint session of Congress in 2011 received 29 standing ovations. "I follow American politics," he says evenly, "but I don't interfere in American politics." The White House might disagree. Until Netanyahu came along, Israeli Prime Ministers believed that the key relationship was with the U.S. President. But Bibi had a different insight: an Israeli Prime Minister must have a relationship not only with the President but also with Congress, the American public, American Jewry and, of course, the U.S. media. To Bibi's way of thinking, the President is not necessarily even the first among equals.
Bibi is popular among American Jews, but so is Barack Obama. A survey in April found that 61% of Jewish voters favored Obama and only 28% were for Mitt Romney. Jewish voters are one of the few groups in the U.S. that have historically voted against their economic interests, usually backing Democratic candidates over GOP counterparts by at least 2 to 1. And though Obama ruffled the feathers of many American Jews in his first two years in office, tensions have mostly abated. Most of Obama's Jewish bundlers have reupped for the campaign. Some close advisers to Bibi see Obama as the one exception in a long line of Israeli exceptionalists in the White House. This group regards Obama as someone who has no special fidelity to Israel, unlike his immediate predecessor. But at the moment, both sides are singing "Kumbaya." Bibi says cooperation with U.S. intelligence is good. Says Donilon: "I think the Israeli-U.S. relationship is as strong as it's ever been."
No Justice, No Peace
Bibi has never made peace with the peace process. "Peace treaties don't guarantee peace," he says. He believes that the Israelis and the Palestinians have competing and incompatible narratives. Forget the 1967 borders: Bibi wants to go back to 1948 or further. "The first 50 years before 1967 were all about conflict," he says. "So what's new?"
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas--Bibi calls him by his honorific, Abu Mazen--would like to resume negotiations where they left off with Bibi's predecessor Ehud Olmert. Abbas and Olmert met 36 times in 2007 and 2008, and both say they came closer to a deal than anyone had before.
When Obama took office, people thought he would bring a new dynamic to the talks that would favor the Palestinians. Obama asked Bibi to freeze settlement construction for one year as an act of good faith. And then Abbas did not come to the table. When Abbas was finally coaxed to do so, he presented Bibi with the same package Olmert had negotiated. Abbas says he won't talk while settlements are being built, and Bibi says he wants talks "without preconditions." The only freeze now is in the negotiations themselves.