Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel sees himself as a modern incarnation of Winston Churchill. He alone is capable of forecasting the gathering global storm and, like the great Englishman, able to “mobilize the English language and send it into battle,” as he tried to do in 2015, when he sidestepped an American president he despised to speak powerfully to Congress about the Iranian threat.

So it was quite something to watch yesterday as Bibi played the appeaser.

All it took was fewer than 240 characters from the bully in the Oval Office: “It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds,” President Trump tweeted. “Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!”

The Israeli government had already publicly announced that it was going to allow the staunchly anti-Israel congresswomen into the country later this month. As the Israeli ambassador, Ron Dermer, wisely put it in July: “Out of respect for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America, we would not deny entry to any member of Congress into Israel.”

This was the sound logic of a secure state exercising smart diplomacy toward its most important ally.