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Israeli leaders laud Biden after he announces end to presidential reelection bid

Israel’s president and lawmakers thank President Biden, lauding him as a friend of Israel, after Biden announces he will not seek a second term.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli leaders reacting to President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday that he will not seek reelection in this year’s vote lauded the president as a ‘friend of Israel,’ and thanking him for his positions vis-à-vis the Jewish state during his more than half a century in politics.

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, issued a statement Sunday night, offer his “heartfelt thanks” to Biden, noting that the 46th president was the first to travel to Israel on a solidarity mission during wartime.

“I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to POTUS Joe Biden for his friendship and steadfast support for the Israeli people over his decades long career.”

“As the first US President to visit Israel in wartime, as a recipient of the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor, and as a true ally of the Jewish people, he is a symbol of the unbreakable bond between our two peoples. I send him, FLOTUS Jill Biden, and all his family, my warmest wishes from Jerusalem.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) echoed Herzog’s comments, tweeting his thanks for Biden’s “unwavering support” of Israel, citing in particular the president’s handling of the Gaza war.

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“Thank you President Joe Biden, for your unwavering support of Israel over the years. Your steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable. We are grateful for your leadership and friendship.”

Gallant is the only senior Israeli government minister to publicly weigh in on Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 race, with no official response yet issued by either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

One other coalition member, Deputy Minister Avi Maoz (Noam), did comment on Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election, calling it an “opportunity” to mend relations between Israel and the U.S., with veiled criticism of the Biden administration’s decision to freeze aerial munitions transfers to Israel and the imposition of sanctions on settlement organizations and on a number of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria.

“Biden’s exit from the presidential race creates an opportunity to change and repair relations with our greatest ally, allowing us to be partners, without [American] sanctions on settlers and without arms embargoes.”

A number of Opposition lawmakers, however, did speak out on Biden’s announcement ending his 2024 bid, including former Prime Minister and current Opposition Leader MK Yair Lapid, who tweeted the words “Thank you,” above a photograph of the two meeting during Lapid’s brief term as premier.

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MK Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity party and a former Defense Minister, also tweeted a photograph of a meeting between himself and President Biden, praising Biden’s “personal affinity for Israel.”

“For over half a century Joe Biden has been a true friend of the one and only Jewish State, and an ally of the Jewish people. His deep personal affinity for Israel and his moral embrace of Zionism will forever be cherished and remembered by the people of Israel. President Biden, thank you.”

Naftali Bennett, the former prime minister of Israel who is reportedly weighing a return to politics with the aim of forming a new center-right party to challenge the Likud, thanked Biden for what he called his “unwavering support” of Israel.

“President Biden is a true friend of Israel who stood by us in our most difficult moments,” Bennett tweeted. “During my tenure as Prime Minister, I witnessed his unwavering support of the State of Israel. Thank you for everything.”