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What’s missing from Netanyahu’s arguments in Washington
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was received yesterday at the annual AIPAC conference in Washington with all the customary flourishes and respect. Netanyahu’s remarks at the conference, a kind of warm-up for his address to Congress today, received the applause to which he has become accustomed when he comes here. No other Israeli politician knows how to speak to American Jews — and especially to members of the powerful pro-Israel lobby — like Netanyahu.
A few days in Washington makes it clear that Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is the elephant in the room that cannot be ignored or downplayed. Many Israelis and Americans are embarrassed by it. There is clear discomfort over what seems like a rather transparent exercise cooked up by the prime minister, Ambassador Ron Dermer and Republican leaders to circumvent the White House. At the same time, there is some fear of what the speech will do to Israel’s relations with the United States at a time when the awful relations between Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama can no longer be chalked up to a mere lack of chemistry.
What is barely discussed is whether the speech will achieve its stated goal of halting the emerging nuclear deal between the world powers and Iran, which Netanyahu continues to describe as bad and dangerous. Will the prime minister, who will certainly mobilize all his rhetorical abilities for this mission, budge the administration an inch from its position? It seems that even from his perspective, the address will at best infuse a fighting spirit in the Republican attacks on the president’s foreign policy as it pertains to Iran and the Middle East in general. But the open crisis in relations with the administration is already endangering Democratic support for a proposal to intensify sanctions and undermining the presumption of a bipartisan, apolitical front in Congress that supports Israel’s arguments against the deal.
Even worse, it’s possible that the public criticism of the administration may push Obama to quickly sign an agreement in principle by the end of March, just to prove that he is not influenced by Israeli intimidation attempts.
Source: www.haaretz.com