First in line: Why Netanyahu’s swift White House invite matters
By swiftly inviting Netanyahu to the White House, Trump is sending a clear message to the region and beyond: Netanyahu and Israel are his close friends.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump in the White House on Tuesday, February 4 marking the first time an Israeli leader is the first world statesman to meet a newly inaugurated American president
In the world of diplomacy, optics matter, and this distinction – traditionally given to the leader of Canada, Britain, Mexico or Japan as a reflection of close ties and the special nature of those relationships – is no trivial matter
It underscores the symbolic importance of the US-Israel relationship
Netanyahu 'last' to meet Biden
This is particularly significant considering what happened the last time a new president took office when many worldwide were sitting with a stopwatch measuring how long it would take then-US president Joe Biden, to call Netanyahu
