—Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) February 3, 2019
The Israeli leader has sought to emphasize his close relationship with the US president as he fights for reelection and potentially faces indictment on corruption charges.
There are calls from advocacy groups like J Street, which describes itself as a cohort of "pro-Israel" and "pro-peace" Americans, for US officials to "condemn Netanyahu's efforts to bring these extreme racists into Israel’s next government."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from INSIDER.
With that said, Ibish said he doesn't see this move from Netanyahu having any significant impact on Israeli-US relations or Trump's relationship with Netanyahu.
Trump is "the least likely American leader to be offended" by Netanyahu embracing an extremist group, according to Ibish.
"Trump is exceptionally pro-Israel, does not seem particularly interested in a two-state solution, has cut the Palestinians off from all US funding and shuttered their diplomatic mission in Washington, and is unlikely to be offended by anything Mr. Netanyahu could do to the Palestinians," Ibish said.
He added that Trump is also a "proponent of ethnic nationalism and discrimination around the world, a friend to strongmen and not someone who is at all bothered by racism and systematic bigotry," which is another reason he won't take issue with Netanyahu embracing Jewish Power.
Ibish also said the "emergence of a left-wing fringe in the Democratic Party that is critical of Israel and the occupation" also doesn't mean we'll see significant criticism of Netanyahu from Democratic leaders like Sen. Chuck Schumer. This is because uncritical support for the Israeli government in Washington is far too entrenched and is essentially "the political equivalent 'friends letting friends drive drunk,'" Ibish said.
