President
Obama refused to meet with Netanyahu on his trip to the United States,
and the Israeli government presumably thought a meeting with the
opposition candidate in the absence of one with the sitting president
would be too provocative. But there was apparently an eagerness on the
Israeli prime minister's part to talk with Romney in order to help win
as broad American support as possible for the red lines he outlined in
his United Nations speech with respect to the Iranian nuclear program.
As for Romney, he expects to explore Netanyahu's
understanding of the red lines, and also, we are told, wants to hear
Netanyahu's perspective on developments elsewhere in the Middle East.
Apparently at the request of both principals,
neither of their offices has put a hard-stop on their schedules for this
call, so the discussion is likely to be both substantive and
substantial.
It will be interesting to hear the readouts
tomorrow from both the Netanyahu and Romney camps after the "principals
only" phone call—and to see the White House reaction, as well.
In the summer, Netanyahu hosted Romney in Israel for dinner, hours after Romney delivered an address in Jerusalem.
“Mitt, I want to thank you for those very strong
words of support and friendship for Israel and for Jerusalem that we
heard today in your speech by the walls of Jerusalem,” Netanyahu told Romney as he welcomed him to the prime minister’s residence.
“Jerusalem today is marking the destruction of the
city thousands of years ago. As you see it’s been rebuilt by the Jewish
people, open to all the three great faiths, vibrant, bustling, and as
you said, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and Jerusalem will always
be the capital of Israel. So welcome to Jerusalem, Mitt.”
Netanyahu and Romney have known each other for almost 35 years, having worked together at Boston Consulting Group in 1976.
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