Obama aide flays Netanyahu
ISRAELI PM TO MAKE HIS CASE TO CONGRESS AGAINST A NUKE DEAL
Susan Rice says Israeli PM’s plans to address a joint meeting of Congress has hurt his country’s ties with US
Susan Rice, US President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, sharply criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Tuesday over his plans to address a joint meeting of Congress next week, saying his actions had hurt his country’s relationship with the United States.
Netanyahu’s decision to travel to Washington to deliver the speech two weeks before the Israeli elections has “injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it’s destructive of the fabric of the relationship,” Rice said in an interview on the PBS television programme Charlie Rose .
Her comments marked the strongest public rebuke to date by the Obama administration since Netanyahu accepted an invitation from Speaker John Boehner to make his case to Congress against a nuclear deal with Iran, which is a priority of Obama’s. It is also the frankest acknowledgement yet by a top US official of the degree to which the controversy has damaged US-Israeli relations.
The speech, scheduled for March 3, was arranged by Boehner and the Israeli ambassador without consulting the White House — a move that Obama’s team has called a breach of protocol.
The president has said he will not meet with Netanyahu during his visit to avoid any appearance that he is trying to influence the Israeli elections that are scheduled for mid-March.
The episode is a low point in the tense relationship between Obama and Netanyahu and has touched off weeks of anonymous sniping and finger-pointing.
Top administration officials have hinted more openly of their displeasure in recent days.
Snub to Democrats
Vice-President Joe Biden, who as president of the Senate would be expected to attend, has said he will be travelling abroad. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he would be in Switzerland negotiating with the Iranians. The White House has also not committed to sending a representative next week to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s conference, where Netanyahu is also scheduled to appear.
The Israeli prime minister himself has turned down a request by Democratic senators for a private meeting, Sen Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said on Tuesday.
“We offered the prime minister an opportunity to balance the politically divisive invitation from Speaker Boehner with a private meeting with Democrats who are committed to keeping the bipartisan support of Israel strong,” Durbin said in a statement. “His refusal to meet is disappointing to those of us who have stood by Israel for decades.”
In a letter released by Durbin’s office, Netanyahu said such a meeting “could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit.”
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he was making the trip because it was his obligation to “do everything I can to prevent” a nuclear agreement with Iran.
“Therefore, I will go to Washington to address the American Congress, because the American Congress is likely to be the final brake before the agreement between the major powers and Iran.”
Rice demurred when asked whether she believed Netanyahu was making the speech to gain political favour. “I’m not going to ascribe motives to the prime minister,” she told Rose. “The point is, we want the relationship between the United States and Israel to be unquestionably strong… We’ve worked very hard to have that.”
The president has said he will not meet with Netanyahu during his visit to avoid any appearance that he is trying to influence the Israeli elections that are scheduled for mid-March.