US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells J Street confab that the Biden administration will judge with the incoming hardline Israeli government based on the policies that it implements and not by the individuals slated to fill senior roles in the next coalition.
The remarks come amid speculation that Biden officials will not engage with some of the more far-right members of Israel’s emerging government, such Bezalel Smotrich, and Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir.
Blinken took the opportunity to again congratulate presumptive prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu — eliciting an audible hiss from a handful among the 1,000-plus conference attendees — and welcomed his commitment to lead a government “that in his words, will work for the benefit of all residents in the State of Israel without exception.”
Source TOI/ AP Photo, Carolyn Kaste