Report: Netanyahu hires journalist who dubbed Biden “unfit” as media advisor 2023

Haaretz reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a new media advisor who has tweeted negatively about President Joe Biden.

Gilad Zwick, a journalist for a conservative Israeli television network, tweeted that Biden was “unfit to rule” and “slowly but surely destroying America.” Additionally, he posted tweets implying his support for President Donald Trump’s fraudulent assertions that the 2020 U.S. election was rigged. Monday, the messages were still online.

Netanyahu’s office and Zwick’s office did not respond promptly to a request for comment. Zwick formerly worked for the pro-Netanyahu newspaper Israel Hayom.

Relations between the United States and Israel are currently fraught.

The appointment of Zwick comes at a time when relations between Israel and its closest ally, the United States, are strained due to a controversial Israeli government plan to overhaul the judiciary and the ultranationalist nature of the government.

Biden has expressed public concern over the Netanyahu government’s plan to restructure the legal system, which has prompted weekly protests despite the plan’s suspension.

The Biden administration has also expressed concern regarding Netanyahu’s government, which is comprised of ultranationalists who were once on the periphery of Israeli politics but now occupy senior positions dealing with Palestinians and other sensitive issues.

In light of the tensions, Biden has thus far declined to invite Netanyahu to the White House following his election victory late last year.

Critics accuse Netanyahu of progressively transforming Israel into a partisan issue in American politics. They cite his apparent open support for Republican candidates and his 2015 speech to Congress, which was perceived as an insult to the Obama administration regarding the Iran nuclear agreement.

Netanyahu asserts that Israel’s relationship with the United States is unbreakable and minimizes any rifts as differences between peers.

After Republican Newt Gingrich in 1998, U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy addressed the Knesset last month.