Katya Yindra
On April 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington D.C. to meet with President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The visit, planned on short-notice, comes as Netanyahu faces mounting pressure over the economic consequences of Trump’s newly imposed tariffs on Israeli imports.
Since 2023, Israel’s economy has taken severe hits due to ongoing resistance, primarily from Palestine, Yemen, and Lebanon. The steep 17% levy proposed by Trump will only exacerbate the Zionist entity’s ongoing political and economic crises, which, as a semi-colonial country, is heavily dependent on US imperialism.
In a video statement before his arrival, Netanyahu boasted about the “special personal relationship” between himself and Trump, noting that he was the first foreign leader to meet with the president since the tariffs took effect.
Despite Netanyahu’s visit and vowing to erase Israel’s supposed trade deficit with the US, Trump remained unmoved. Regarding the prime minister’s last minute plea, Trump simply replied “Thank you, that’s very nice.” When asked if he would lower the tariff rate on Israel, set to kick in on April 8, Trump mused, “maybe not,” pointing to the billions of dollars the US already gives to Israel each year.
Meanwhile, demonstrations erupted in NYC to protest Netanyahu’s visit. Protesters congregated outside of the UN building before marching west and flooding Grand Central Station. As they chanted and clapped, their uproar echoed through the expanses of the Main Concourse, causing a significant disruption and successfully shutting down multiple entrances of the station during rush hour. Videos show commuters left stranded, staring at the police barricades blocking them from entering or exiting.
The visit also comes amid continued Zionist genocide in Gaza. On the same day Netanyahu landed, the family of Palestinian-American Amir Mohammed Rabee held the 14-year-old boy’s funeral. Rabee was the victim of an IDF shooting that injured two other teenage boys, one of whom is also an American citizen. In a statement, the IDF attempted to justify their lethal action, dubbing the boys “terrorists” for allegedly throwing rocks toward a highway. In the 10-second video released by the IDF, the people throwing rocks are unidentifiable due to the low quality of the footage. Rabee’s father dismissed the IDF’s story, claiming it does not prove his son did anything wrong. He condemned the US embassy for believing the IDF’s narrative and continuously turning a blind eye to videos filmed by civilians and journalists documenting Israeli violence.
The Worker is an entirely volunteer-run revolutionary newspaper free from and radically antagonistic to corporate influence. We rely on the support of our readers to sustain our editorial line in service of the working class and the reconstitution of its party, the Communist Party. Make a one-time or recurring donation to our newspaper today:
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
