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Netanyahu May be Going to China to Boost His Political Standing at Home, Says Israeli Scholar

by Eric Olander
File image of President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 21, 2017. Etienne Oliveau / POOL / AFP

The political calculations that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made in agreeing to accept President Xi Jinping’s invitation to visit may be far more nuanced than the prevailing narratives in the Israeli and U.S. media, which largely frame it around annoying Joe Biden.

Given the Prime Minister’s abysmal public approval ratings, a visit to China and all the pomp that entails could be a useful way to shift attention from his domestic political problems.

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