A Breath of Fresh Air For Bibi

What a relief. The contrast between Netanyahu's visits with Biden and yesterday's visit with Trump was like night and day. Instead of hectoring and threats, obstructions and interference from the Biden Administration, there was a genuine rapport between the two, and the knowledge that America now has Israel's back. 

National Review's headline is Trump Repairs the U.S.-Israel Relationship, and here are some excerpts:

"This week, we got an early glimpse of how President Trump will approach the U.S. relationship with Israel during his second term. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to visit the White House since the start of the new administration, which in itself carried great symbolic significance. But Trump followed up the symbolism with substantive moves that conveyed the common interests of the two allies.

"On Tuesday, before welcoming Netanyahu, Trump signed an executive order that brought back his “maximum pressure” campaign targeting Iran. During his first term, he imposed crippling sanctions on the Islamist regime, which starved the mullahs of resources, making it harder for them to finance terrorist proxies led by Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

"Unfortunately, the Biden administration shifted to a policy of minimum pressure, unraveling carefully deployed sanctions that provided a lifeline to Iran in hopes of reviving Barack Obama’s disastrous nuclear deal. The result was more aggression from Iran and its terrorist network.

"On Wednesday, Netanyahu had an additional meeting with Pete Hegseth, in which the newly sworn-in secretary of defense thanked Israel for eliminating Hezbollah leaders, particularly one who played a role in the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut. He also noted that Trump had lifted the pause on certain weapons that had been put in place under Joe Biden and said that the administration was committed to keep supplying them.

"During the Biden administration, when Netanyahu visited, he was subjected to constant lectures and threats over the Israeli conduct of its existential war. The prime minister will no doubt be resting a lot easier on his flight home this time."