Angry Netanyahu Orders Ministers To Attend Welcome For Trump
Image by Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that all Cabinet ministers must attend the arrival ceremony at Ben-Gurion International airport for President Donald Trump after learning most were not planning to attend.
Israeli media reported, citing an unnamed senior government official, that the prime minister got very angry at the meeting when he learned that so few government ministers had decided to come. Shortly after the meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office issued instructions to all government ministers requiring them to be in attendance at the airport at the time of Trump’s arrival.
The Foreign Ministry reportedly had originally said that attendance was optional.
U.S. officials reportedly were concerned about the heat upon the president’s arrival and asked for an abbreviated welcome ceremony.
Government ministers reportedly had decided not to attend the ceremony because they would be required to arrive 2.5 hours ahead of Trump’s arrival, go through a security check, and wait in the reception area. They also reportedly would not be afforded the opportunity to shake hands with the president or those traveling with him since they will not be standing in the receiving line at the airport.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
