During her ongoing journey to the Middle East and North Africa, First Lady Jill Biden has decided to exclude Israel from her itinerary.
Instead, she plans to bolster our regional alliances by visiting Jordan and Egypt, two key nations. However, she will bypass Israel while traveling between these destinations, aiming further to strengthen our relationships with allies in the area.
The wedding of the Jordanian Crown Prince, an unelected monarch from a country with a majority Palestinian population, is expected to be attended by the First Lady as part of her visit.
However, she will not be visiting the only truly democratic nation in the region.
The Associated Press reports that the First Lady’s trip will include Egypt, Jordan, Portugal, and Morocco, focusing on promoting empowerment for women and young people, among other priorities.
Nevertheless, she has chosen not to visit the most egalitarian society in the Middle East, the only country in the region to have had a female leader elected to office.
The Biden administration has not directly engaged with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who won the Israeli elections last November but has not received a customary invitation to the White House.
In March, Tom Nides, U.S. Ambassador promised a White House invitation for Netanyahu if specific judicial reforms were paused. President Joe Biden publicly contradicted the invitation.
The Biden administration has decided not to establish direct communication with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite his victory in Israel’s elections last November.
In an impromptu press gathering, Biden stated there would be no formal invitation to Netanyahu in the near future.
The Biden administration’s approach appears to be isolating Israel to exert leverage over internal Israeli politics and influence Israel’s policies regarding Iran and the Palestinians.
President Obama visited Egypt in 2009 and delivered a speech aimed at the Muslim world during his first trip to the region, which offended many Israelis as he did not visit Israel then. He later visited Israel during his second term.
