Israel sees the April 20-21 visit of Defense Secretary James Mattis as a critical milestone in shaping the new relationship between the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government.

The most important "safety instruction" being distributed to all senior officials in Israel on the eve of Mattis' visit is that under no circumstances should they use the moniker "Mad Dog," which Mattis has carried with him since his days in the Marines. One senior Israeli defense source told Al-Monitor this week on condition of anonymity, "The region all around us is full of 'mad dogs,' who are uncontrollable and unpredictable. Mattis represents those forces trying to bring stability to the chaos and restore America's role as the responsible adult and regional sheriff in the Middle East."

"Mattis is the most powerful person in the Trump administration," one senior Cabinet minister told Al-Monitor April 19 on condition of anonymity. "He has an absolute consensus surrounding him. His appointment was approved by 98 out of 100 senators." He is a real general, who also happens to be an intellectual, very well versed in Middle Eastern affairs ever since his days as commander of CENTCOM [US Central Command in Tampa, Florida]."

Though Mattis will inevitably be meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he will be the official guest of his colleague, Defense Minister  Avigdor Liberman. This will be the third meeting between Mattis and Liberman in as many months. One Israeli participant in some of these meetings, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is a "rare chemistry" between the two men. In conversations with his associates, Liberman has nothing but compliments for the new US secretary of defense. At their March 7 meeting in Washington, Mattis and Liberman were supposed to meet in private for just 15 minutes, yet the meeting lasted almost an hour, until Mattis' chief aide was forced to intervene.