Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won’t attack the Biden administration in his upcoming speech to Congress. Sullivan shared this view at the Aspen Security Forum on Friday.
“Our expectation is that his speech will be one that doesn’t look like 2015,” Sullivan said. He was referring to Netanyahu’s previous controversial address to Congress. “It looks like what it should in the circumstances of today, and that is how the U.S. and Israel are trying together to face down the terrorist threat to coordinate together on the regional challenges that both of our countries are facing.”
Following his meeting with Israeli officials in Washington last week, Sullivan received a general overview of Netanyahu’s intended speech. According to the officials, the Prime Minister’s speech will support themes that match US policy.
“They said he’s intending to reinforce a set of themes and arguments that are not at odds or in contradiction to our policy, American policy,” Sullivan explained.
Jake Sullivan admitted he probably won’t see the full thing before Netanyahu delivers it. But he’s optimistic about its content. “Whether that happens or not, I’ll stay tuned,” he added. Nevertheless, he expects Netanyahu to brief President Biden on the content of his speech before delivering it.
Recently, Netanyahu and the Biden administration have had some public disagreements. However, Sullivan thinks this visit will be more positive. Given the ongoing efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, Sullivan is determined not to “rest until we have this thing in place, and sooner rather than later.”
When speaking about the ceasefire talks, the national security adviser was careful not to sound too confident.
“I have learned the hard way never to use the word optimism in the same sentence as the Middle East,” Jake Sullivan said.
