Why progressives like AOC are right to boycott Israeli President Isaac Herzog | Peter Beinart

For Democratic leaders like Joe Biden, Herzog embodies the good Israel. Unfortunately, they are wrong

Why are President Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress so eager to welcome Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, to Washington this week? Because he's an Israeli leader not named Benjamin Netanyahu.

Many Democrats revile Netanyahu, who undermined Barack Obamaand leads a government determined to entrench Israel's brutal and undemocratic occupation of the West Bank. They also fear that legitimizing Netanyahu could strengthen his efforts to defenestrate Israel's judiciary.

Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) is a professor of journalism and political science at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York. He is also an editor-at-large of Jewish Currents and writes The Beinart Notebook, a weekly newsletter