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Hebrew is a compressed language. Much disdain can be packed in a few syllables. To say of the prime minister, "He's someone who cracks under pressure," takes just two words: hu lahitz.

When a television mic caught the Israeli Finance Ministry's budget chief using those words last week, the budget chief denied he was talking about Benjamin Netanyahu. The denial was hard to take seriously. For one thing, the official resigned the next day in disgust over Netanyahu's handling of a national budget crisis. For another, the description precisely fit the prime minister's behavior.

In the lead-up to Netanyahu's meeting today with Barack Obama, I'm sure the president's staffers have studied the Israeli leader's positions on the Palestinians and on Syria and Iran. Let's hope they...