After hours of silence, Netanyahu and Rivlin congratulate Biden on election win

08/11/2020

Israeli top leaders among last to comment on outcome of 2020 vote; PM notes ‘long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years,’ while also tweeting thanks to Trump

By Raphael Ahren
Nov. 8, 2020

After a conspicuously long hiatus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin issued statements early Sunday morning congratulating Joe Biden for winning the US presidential elections.

“Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Joe, we’ve had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel,” Netanyahu wrote on his personal Twitter account at 7 a.m. in Israel (midnight EST).

“I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the US and Israel.”

In a second tweet, he thanked President Donald Trump “for the friendship you have shown the state of Israel and me personally, for recognizing Jerusalem and the Golan, for standing up to Iran, for the historic peace accords and for bringing the American-Israeli alliance to unprecedented heights.”