Senior Democrats Consider Boycott of Netanyahu Address to Congress

posted on: Feb 5, 2015

High-ranking Democrats are weighing a boycott of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress next month, complaining that it’s a politicized event meant to embarrass President Obama and boost Netanyahu back home before a March 17 election.

The group, including long-standing backers of Israel such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), is outraged that House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) maneuvered to invite Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress without consulting Obama, White House officials or Secretary of State John F. Kerry. It’s part of a bid by Republicans to apply political pressure on the administration as senior officials, led by Kerry, engage in sensitive talks with Iran over a possible deal to surrender its efforts to gain nuclear power.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com