President Joe Biden’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is as complicated as it is long.
Their ties span nearly four decades, beginning before they assumed the highest positions of power in their countries.
In that time, Netanyahu and Biden’s politics have diverged distinctly, with the prime minister being most recently sworn into office in December — his sixth time — to lead a fiercely far right, religiously conservative government.
Now, the two have been plunged into a wartime partnership in response to Hamas’ devastating surprise assault on Israel.
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It is all unfolding before a president who came into office knowing Netanyahu in a way unlike any other U.S. president, having both sparred and forged agreements since they both were fledgling politicians.
Shaping how the two will get through this latest crisis is Biden’s longtime unyielding support for Israel, said William Wechsler, senior director of Middle East Studies at the Atlantic Council.
That support is part of Biden’s bonafides on Israel, with the president having a deep cache of public comments backing the nation after decades in government and politics, he said.
“They’re never going to be personal, best friends. It’s not the nature of the relationship. But at the same time, the personal connection to Israel is what keeps it going,” said Wechsler, who arrived in Tel Aviv on Saturday, just after the surprise Hamas attacks.
“Neither is intimidated by the other, neither is awed by the other, neither is surprised by the other,” he added. “They really can’t caricature each other. They will work together when needed, but will also be clear when there is a disagreement.”
Their relationship dates back to the time when Biden was a young senator and Netanyahu was in leadership in the Israeli embassy in Washington. The two climbed the political ladder in parallel, Netanyahu becoming Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and Biden rising to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Eventually, Netanyahu ascended to prime minister in 1996 and has held the position on and off since, riling tensions in his political relationships in the United States along the way. Netanyahu has held power over the decades either in office or as the leader of the opposition party.
Ties between the two men grew strained during President Barack Obama’s administration, when Biden served as vice president. A report in The Atlantic in 2014 described Israel-U.S. relations as teetering on the edge of a “full blown crisis.”
“We’re still buddies,” Biden said soon after. Addressing their friendship, he referred to Netanyahu by his nickname “Bibi.”
“He’s been a friend for over 30 years,” Biden said. “I said, ‘Bibi, I don’t agree with a damn thing you say but I love you.’”
In 2015, Netanyahu vociferously opposed a nuclear deal with Iran brokered by the Obama administration. He testified before a joint meeting of Congress at the time.
“This is a bad deal — a very bad deal,” Netanyahu said. “We’re better off without it.”
That testimony undermined the administration, said Jon Alterman, senior vice president and director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, so there is a history of “wariness” from Biden, he said. Still, Alterman said the two treat each other as professionals.
“Both of them have been through dozens of crises. As democratic politicians they have a sense for the arc of crises, direction of crises, the stages of crises and the political constraints of crises,” Alterman said. “Frankly, their politics are not the same and their interests are not necessarily the same, but they come from an understanding of the other’s political environment.”
During Donald Trump’s presidency, Netanyahu found a leader who enacted staunch pro-Israel policies. In 2018, Netanyahu lauded Trump’s “bold decision” in pulling the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal.
The New York Times in 2017 described a “budding symbiotic relationship” between Trump and Netanyahu. The premier also heaped praise on Trump for moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested Holy City of Jerusalem in 2018.
“Trump admired Netanyahu. Netanhayu admired Trump,” Alterman said. “In many cases, the U.S. ambassador [to Israel] would send Trump a message and Trump would tweet something and U.S. policy would change.”
Last year, when asked about Trump’s return to politics, Netanyahu demurred. “Keep me out of it,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked if he’d like to see Trump as president again. He called the question a “landmine.”
Friction between Biden and the prime minister spilled into public view in March after Biden opposed the Israeli leader’s support for a partial takeover of the Supreme Court. That decision prompted massive protests across Israel.
“Like many strong supporters of Israel, I’m very concerned. And I’m concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road,” Biden said in March.
Netanyahu, responding in a series of tweets, accused Biden of interjecting himself in his nation’s politics.
“Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends,” he said.
Biden went several months without inviting Netanyahu to the White House. The first meeting between the two since Netanyahu returned to office late last year took place in September.
After the meeting, the White House noted that Biden had “emphasized the need to take immediate measures to improve the security and economic situation, maintain the viability of a two-state solution, and promote a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
After the recent attacks, Biden spoke with Netanyahu, pledging the full backing of the United States.
In a statement, Biden characterized it this way: “My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com