Netanyahu and Biden: A History

<p>It has been more than a week since the latest escalation between Israel and Hamas, and President Biden has been taking a cautious approach.</p><p>The president has stressed Israel’s right to defend itself, but he seems reluctant to place too much pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.</p><p>Mr. Biden has known Mr. Netanyahu for decades. Is that a help or a hindrance?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-crowley?smid=pc-thedaily">Michael Crowley</a>, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times. </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Mr. Biden has maintained his public support toward Israel even as he adopted a somewhat sharper private tone with Mr. Netanyahu,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/us/politics/biden-netanyahu.html"> a calculus shaped by their longtime relationship</a>.</li><li>Among Democrats in Congress, attitudes toward Israel have grown more critical as the party base expresses concern<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/us/politics/israel-gaza-democrats-biden.html"> about the human rights of Palestinians</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/israel-gaza-what-we-know.html">Here’s what to know</a> about the conflict between Israel and Hamas.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>