Rumors and leaks to numerous media outlets suggest that the already contentious relationship between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached new lows. The latest round of rumor mongering began Tuesday night (June 18) when, as Axios reported, the White House had canceled a meeting of the U.S.-Israel Strategic Consultative Group (SDG) that had been scheduled for June 20 to discuss Iran. The video that Netanyahu had posted earlier that day, insultingly accusing the Biden Administration of withholding weapons from Israel, had reportedly enraged White House officials, leading to the cancellation.
But it’s clear in further press reports that multiple sources were providing different accounts as to what happened: “The meeting wasn’t canceled, it was postponed”; “the administration wouldn’t cancel such a meeting in a fit of pique”; “White House envoy Amos Hochstein was given the task of reading the riot act to Netanyahu”; and so on.
