Israeli Defense Minister Travels to US – Where He Will Not Meet with Any Government Officials
According to reports in Israel, the reason is Netanyahu’s veto on meetings with US officials in Washington, until he is invited to the White House
Mandi Kogosowski
| 24/08/2023
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant at a news conference at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, Israel, March 9, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, departed for the United States on an official visit overnight. According to the statement released by the Ministry of Defense, during his trip, Gallant will meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan.
Also on Gallant’s schedule is a security briefing he will conduct for the ambassadors of the member states in the United Nations Security Council, as well as a visit to the Procurement Mission of the Ministry of Defense in New York.
Wait, there’s more. Gallant, according to the statement, will also participate in a fundraising event to benefit the welfare of IDF soldiers, both in the standing army and in the reserves.
What is missing from this schedule? Perhaps a meeting with Gallant’s US counterpart, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Maybe also meetings with other top administration officials, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken – who had met with both Gabi Ashkenazi and Yair Lapid during their respective tenures as foreign ministers in the previous government?
What is the point of traveling all the way to the US, especially during such volatile times, when Israel is being torn apart from within, while also facing a surging wave of terror and threats on multiple fronts, threats which might also affect and influence the American policy in the region?
According to reports in Israel, the answer is simple: a veto imposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As he still awaits the coveted invitation for a meeting with President Joe Biden in the White House, Netanyahu’s reported attitude (and directive) is “if I’m not invited to Washington, no one gets a meeting there.”
In early March, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu vetoed two US visits to which Gallant was invited, during which he was meant to meet with senior government and security officials.
Gallant did, in fact, meet with Austin recently – but in Brussels, on the sidelines of a gathering of the NATO defense ministers. Their previous meeting was in March, in Israel.
One must also note the tense relations between the two, ever since Netanyahu fired Gallant in March for stepping out against the judicial overhaul. Gallant’s termination was cancelled following a massive public protest and he remained in his position.
According to reports in Israel, the reason is Netanyahu’s veto on meetings with US officials in Washington, until he is invited to the White House
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant at a news conference at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, Israel, March 9, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, departed for the United States on an official visit overnight. According to the statement released by the Ministry of Defense, during his trip, Gallant will meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan.
Also on Gallant’s schedule is a security briefing he will conduct for the ambassadors of the member states in the United Nations Security Council, as well as a visit to the Procurement Mission of the Ministry of Defense in New York.
Wait, there’s more. Gallant, according to the statement, will also participate in a fundraising event to benefit the welfare of IDF soldiers, both in the standing army and in the reserves.
What is missing from this schedule? Perhaps a meeting with Gallant’s US counterpart, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Maybe also meetings with other top administration officials, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken – who had met with both Gabi Ashkenazi and Yair Lapid during their respective tenures as foreign ministers in the previous government?
What is the point of traveling all the way to the US, especially during such volatile times, when Israel is being torn apart from within, while also facing a surging wave of terror and threats on multiple fronts, threats which might also affect and influence the American policy in the region?
According to reports in Israel, the answer is simple: a veto imposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As he still awaits the coveted invitation for a meeting with President Joe Biden in the White House, Netanyahu’s reported attitude (and directive) is “if I’m not invited to Washington, no one gets a meeting there.”
In early March, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu vetoed two US visits to which Gallant was invited, during which he was meant to meet with senior government and security officials.
Gallant did, in fact, meet with Austin recently – but in Brussels, on the sidelines of a gathering of the NATO defense ministers. Their previous meeting was in March, in Israel.
One must also note the tense relations between the two, ever since Netanyahu fired Gallant in March for stepping out against the judicial overhaul. Gallant’s termination was cancelled following a massive public protest and he remained in his position.
