On Nov. 9, 2016, right after the presidential elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to congratulate Republican victor Donald Trump and was one of the first world leaders to call him. On Nov. 7 of this year, right after the midterm congressional elections, Netanyahu forgot to congratulate Trump. Surely, the inveterate Twitter master from Jerusalem did not miss Trump’s crowing tweet (“Tremendous success tonight”). It would seem, however, that there is a limit to Netanyahu’s willingness to make himself a laughing stock, even for his White House benefactor.

And while Trump congratulated House Minority Leader and Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi on her party’s success, Netanyahu did not bother wishing her luck. The veteran lawmaker is not among the prime minister’s coterie of fans on Capitol Hill, and there seems to be a limit to the number of frogs Netanyahu is willing to swallow. He probably remembers that Pelosi was highly critical of his intention to address a joint session of Congress about the Iran nuclear deal in March 2015. Netanyahu has many opportunities to tell Americans what he thinks of the Iran agreement, Pelosi said prior to the speech, adding a veiled barb to the effect that the Israeli leader is a frequent guest on Sunday talk shows in the United States.

Other members of Netanyahu’s government from the Likud and HaBayit HaYehudi parties, chief among them Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who eagerly congratulated the Republicans on their 2016 victories, were mum this time around. Deputy Minister Michael Oren was the only politician from the ruling coalition who dared address the upset in the House of Representatives. “Following the midterm elections, the US administration will have to show foreign policy results, which means the president will spearhead his ‘ultimate deal’ with the Palestinians,” Oren tweeted. The US-born politician, appointed by Netanyahu as Israeli ambassador to the United States, a position he held for four years (2009-2013), believes that “of all the conflicts in the world, President Trump thinks our conflict in the Middle East is resolvable.”

This last sentence can be interpreted as an expression of hope or concern. The same goes for the Channel 10 television report on Nov. 10 regarding comments made last week by Trump’s peace process envoy Jason Greenblatt. Those who hope Trump will devote a concerted effort to pushing forward Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were encouraged when Greenblatt said, “We are sure that if both sides agree to enter negotiations, they will understand why we reached the conclusions that will be presented in the peace plan.” On the other hand, those whom Trump spoiled the way one does with children found cause for concern in the envoy’s remarks at a closed-door London event. “Neither side is going to like everything written in the peace plan, and they will have to compromise,” Greenblatt reportedly said. Topping the list is Netanyahu, who favors the word “might” (power) when speaking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and for whom the term “compromise” is a synonym of weakness. And let us not forget that Trump said on Aug. 22 that after he had recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, it was now time for the Palestinians to get “something very good.”