The long delay preceding Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invitation to the White House reflects significant issues concerning Israel’s security and international position. President Joe Biden does not hide his distaste for the structure of the current Israeli government, even as Israel faces rising security tensions on all fronts. The potentially historic breakthrough of a peace agreement between the Jewish state and Saudi Arabia, largely motivated by Biden’s electoral considerations, has been delayed by Netanyahu domestic problems. The rule that internal and external politics are not to be linked has apparently been breached by the world power that carries the international system on its shoulders. Moreover, the crisis is between two allied nations that are considered liberal democracies. What are the implications of this linkage between domestic and international politics?

America and Israel face numerous shared challenges, including terrorism, weapons and nuclear proliferation, cyber warfare, and the spread of radical Islamist ideology. America can consistently depend on the beacon of stability represented by democratic Israel in the turbulent Middle East, where the two countries share the same national and homeland security concerns: the megalomaniacal vision of Iran’s ayatollahs, the threat of Sunni and Shiite Islamic terrorism, and the critical security requirements of vulnerable pro-US Arab regimes. Israel also invests heavily in the American economy and is one of the top 20 suppliers of direct investment in the US.