Netanyahu had no choice but to ban Omar, Tlaib

Ahuge banner hanging over the side of Likud headquarters in downtown Tel Aviv features pictures of Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump, and its message is clear: The American president and the Israeli prime minister are partners. That partnership took a serious hit when Donald Trump forced a very reluctant Mr Netanyahu to cancel the scheduled visit of US Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to the West Bank.

Mr Trump issued what amounted to an order from headquarters in one blunt tweet: “It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep Omar

and Rep. Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds.… They are a disgrace!”

Within an hour, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the trip was off. A deputy minister delivered the news: “We won’t allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle this is a very justified decision.”

The action was humiliating. Only a few weeks ago, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Ron Dormer, announced that the two legislators would be admitted as a gesture of respect to the US Congress. Mr Dormer is Bibi’s protégé and, some say, his political heir. There is no doubt he was speaking for the prime minister.

Given his druthers, Mr Netanyahu would have stuck to his decision and turned it on Ms Omar and Ms Tlaib. The move was obvious: Offer the visitors an airport reception by a junior minister (to emphasise they are small potatoes); arrange for them to visit the Holocaust museum; and invite them to a meeting with everyday Israelis, including victims of Palestinian terrorism.

Of course the two American politicians would have refused such an itinerary. They simply expected to drive through Israel on their way to the fictional state of Palestine. Theirs was a propaganda mission, pure and simple. Making them admit it would have discredited them as serious or fair-minded observers. Instead, Israel handed them an international platform and awarded them the status of enemies of the state.

Mr Netanyahu understood that saying yes to the congresswomen was the smart move. Sure, Mr Trump was on record as opposing the visit, but Bibi took that as bombast. In any case, he has grown accustomed to getting his way in Washington. You could even say that he had come to see the president as a junior partner.

But this time Mr Netanyahu misread the signals. For Mr Trump, demonising Ms Tlaib and Ms Omar is serious political business. He wanted the trip stopped, and he stopped it himself with the derisive charge that Israel (Mr Netanyahu, that is) was guilty of “great weakness”.

There will be an election in Israel in less than a month. Mr Netanyahu is running as a strong leader with invaluable ties to Washington. Being mocked for weakness (in the face of anti-Semitism, no less!) is bad enough. So is being forced to cave under pressure.

But the alternative would have been worse. That big Likud banner portraying Mr Netanyahu with Mr Trump is the prime minister’s most compelling argument for re-election. Resistance to Mr Trump’s diktat could put Mr Netanyahu one tweet away from losing his job. The two leaders are still on good terms, but, from now on, nobody is likely to mistake Mr Netanyahu for the senior partner.

Zev Chafets is a journalist and author of 14 books.