Prime Minister Netanyahu, America Is Waiting to Welcome and Support You

While President Obama has decided not to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the United States in early March, it has not changed House majority leader John Boehner's decision to invite Netanyahu to address the Congress on March 3rd. In a move that Washington insiders described as “blindsiding” the White House, Boehner invited Netanyahu to address Congress and specifically to speak about the danger posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions to Israel and the world. The invitation to Netanyahu was made a day after Obama's State of the Uniion Address, and many analysts view it as a direct response to the President’s call that the US not impose sanctions on Iran while negotiations are ongoing. The President spoke sternly about the matter in the State of the Union, warning that “new sanctions passed by Congress…will all but guarantee that diplomacy fails.” He added that he would veto any bill containing sanctions against Iran. Netanyahu, who has a difficult relationship with the President, responded to Boehner’s invitation by saying that he would be “honored to accept” and that he would use the opportunity to “thank President Barack Obama, Congress, and the American people for their support of Israel.” House minority leader Nancy Pelosi suggested that Netanyahu’s real purpose for visiting the United States was to bolster support for his upcoming election, and she called Boehner’s invitation and the Israeli prime minister’s visit “inappropriate.” Netanyahu faces a tough election and is presently trailing his strongest opposition, the Labor Party, which has focused heavily on the strained relationship between Netanyahu and Obama that Labor says spills over into US - Israel relations in general. Despite criticism, Boehner is not backing down on the invitation or the proposed sanctions. “[The President] expects us to stand idly by and do nothing while he cuts a bad deal with Iran,” Boehner said, adding, “We’re going to do no such thing.” ~~~~~ Leaders of Israeli political parties say Netanyahu is risking Israel's relation with the United States in hopes of winning extra votes in next month's Israeli parliamentary election. But Netanyahu says he would "do everything" to prevent US-led international negotiators from reaching a "bad and dangerous agreement" with Iran over its nuclear program. Netanyahu and Obama differ fundamentally on the Iran issue, with Netanyahu favoring a more confrontational approach and Obama's inclination toward diplomacy and compromise. Netanyahu has called a nuclear-armed Iran the single greatest threat to his country and says its nuclear program must be dismantled. Israeli pressure, with its barely veiled threats to attack Iran if necessary, is credited by many in Israel and America for focusing world attention on the issue and forcing economic sanctions against Iran. ~~~~~ Israel media report that Israeli political leaders across the spectrum agree with Netanyahu's tough line toward Iran. But nonetheless, many opposition leaders have criticized Netanyahu's handling of the speech, describing it as a cheap election stunt that would only undermine support for Israel in Washington. Even some of those who support Netanyahu are saying he misjudged the situation. "You're Right but Don't Go" was the page one headline for a commentary in the Yediot Ahronot daily. "Obama is wrong and you're right. But if there is any chance of budging him from his position, then you are making every possible mistake and turning him into an adversary." The invitation was managed by Netanyahu's ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer. Michael Oren, who served as Netanyahu's ambassador to Washington until 2013, said that if he were still in the post, he would have advised his boss not to address Congress. The worst thing that could happen is for support for the Jewish state to become the monopoly of one party," said Oren, who is now running for parliament with a newly formed centrist party. He said Netanyahu would do better to deliver his speech to the annual AIPAC conference, attended by many members of Congress. "You get the same effect without running the same risk," Oren told the AP. The Anti-Defamation League, a leading Jewish American group, has urged Netanyahu to call off the visit. The pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC also has reservations because it is turning into a partisan event, according to an unnamed person involved in US-Israel relations. But, cabinet minister Yisrael Katz, a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, told Israeli TV : "Netanyahu feels that he has been fighting for years and now we are nearing a critical moment. Fearful that Obama is about to reach a 'bad deal,' Netanyahu jumped at the opportunity to address a joint session of Congress..." ~~~~~ In the US, the issue is largely, but mot entirely, divided along party lines. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, who first seemed to be calling for a Democrat boycott of the Netanyahu speech, now says she will attend and has denied that she engaged in any talk of "boycott." Vice President Joe Biden's office says he will miss the address because of undisclosed overseas travel. The vice president would normally attend the speech in the House chamber and sit with Boehner just behind Netanyahu as part of his duties as president of the Senate. But, despite Obama's stated "protocol" to stay out of Israeli politics so close to the election, Biden found the time to meet Netanyahu's chief rival, Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog, on the sidelines of a recent security conference in Germany. ~~~~~ Dear readers, I think John Boehner is too smart as a politician to invite Prime Minister Netanyahu just to spite Obama or make him look bad. For me, Boehner and the House and Senate are really fearful of the Iran deal that Obama appears to be close to agreeing to - because it menaces not only Israel but also America and the world. Speaker Boehner's invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu to address the issue before Congress is a very public expression of that fear. And it resonates deeply with Americans, including many Democrats in Congress. Democrat Senator Menendez was willing to confront his own party's President over Iran. From Benjamin Netanyahu's viewpoint, he has little or nothing to lose, because it's clear that Obama and his White House advisors detest Netanyahu and have little good to say about him or Israel. Americans disagree fundamentally with Obama's Israel policy, and Congress will make that clear by its welcome for Netanyahu. John Boehner is giving voice to America"s rejection of Obama's policies, in particular toward Iran and against Israel. He may also indirectly be telling Israel to stay the course until 2016 because America will be there for Israel when Obama is history. For those Israelis who are speaking out against Netanyahu's Congress speech -- even though they support his Iran policy wholeheartedly -- quit playing politics, the very thing you accuse Netanyahu of doing. Israelis have faced and conquered foes a thousand times more dire than the "Mouse that Roars - make that Whimpers" that is the Obama administration. Perhaps it is time for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel to be more assertive in support of their real allies -- the only country that is their real ally. Who? The American people, the American military, the Congress and its Republican and Democrat members of good faith, and the determined forces led by Speaker Boehner and Senate majority leader McConnell to prevent the aberrant Obama policies from exposing Israel to the reign of terror that a nuclear-armed Iran would present. Keep faith with America. Don't give up -- above all, don't give up -- on the righteousness of your cause. America is waiting to hear Benjamin Netanyahu express it in terms so clear that even Obama will be compelled to reconsider.