The Israeli Right has embraced PM Binyamin Netanyahu for the hardline positions he expressed in his Washington visit, and for the masterly control of US politics he has showed. Yossi Verter quotes in Haaretz a funny exchange between the PM and Likud MK Danny Danon, who until recently led the opposition to Netanyahu in his own party:
…the Likud faction, which has a hard-line right-wing bloc, was easy on Netanyahu. MK Danny Danon told him at the meeting, “You gave an excellent speech in Congress. Maybe you should run for president on behalf of the Republicans? I hear they’re looking for a candidate. You could be the man.”
Netanyahu cut into Danon’s remarks: “My visit to Washington was bipartisan. I made sure of that. When the members of the Republican Party’s Jewish leadership wanted to visit me at Blair House, I asked them to come with the parallel forum from the Democratic Party – and I met with them both.”
The rest of the dialogue appears only in the Hebrew version of the article:
“Anyway,” insisted Danon, “you should run for president on behalf of the Republicans. You are the man they are looking for”.
“If you want, you should run,” replied Netanyahu.
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