Democrats try to limit talk fallout
Lawmakers upset by invitation; Netanyahu urged to cancel
WASHINGTON — The Israeli prime minister’s coming speech to Congress without President Barack Obama’s blessing has angered Democratic lawmakers, but they see little remedy except to hope for minimal damage to their party and U.S.-Israel relations.
In Jerusalem, meanwhile, Israeli opposition leaders called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel his speech, saying it was endangering Israel’s relationship with its most important ally.
Washington Democrats simmered in frustration as they faced a choice between defending their president and defending a country they consider a vital ally.
Some Republicans predicted Democrats’ complaints about Netanyahu’s March 3 speech will drive Jewish voters to the GOP.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said Democrats are making a “catastrophic mistake” by protesting Netanyahu’s plans.
“Traditionally, supporters of Israel have been really evenhanded in supporting candidates of both parties,” Wilson said, but now, “Democrats are slapping the friends of Israel in the face.”
Democrats reject such talk, saying Republicans repeatedly have overstated their appeal to Jewish voters. Obama got 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008 and 69 percent in 2012, according to exit polls. Congressional Democrats won two-thirds of Jewish votes in last fall’s elections, an especially bad year for their party.
Republicans want to portray Democrats as less supportive of Israel, “but no matter how much they try, they can’t move Jewish voters on this issue,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal pro-Israel group J Street.
House Democrats say Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, showed disrespect to the president — and perhaps cynical political goals — when he invited Netanyahu. Presidents can’t veto congressional speakers, but they usually are consulted.
Many Democrats object for three reasons.
The invitation rebukes Obama. The speech, scheduled three weeks before Israel’s elections, might be designed to boost Netanyahu’s re-election hopes. And Netanyahu is certain to back new penalties against Iran that the Obama administration and Western powers argue could scuttle sensitive negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
Netanyahu says an accord could make it easier for Iran eventually to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Obama says he will reject any deal that doesn’t safeguard Israel and other countries.
Obama’s chief concern about the break in protocol, his spokesman Josh Earnest said, “is to ensure that the strong relationship between the United States and Israel is protected from partisan politics.”
In the House, some Democrats said they won’t attend Netanyahu’s address. The way it was scheduled was “an affront to the president and the State Department,” said Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina said Boehner’s actions were unprecedented and that Netanyahu has “politicized” his U.S. visit.
The speaker of the House and the vice president traditionally sit behind the featured guest during a congressional address. But the White House said Friday that Vice President Joe Biden will be abroad that day.
Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, Congress’ only Jewish Republican, said that if lawmakers boycott Netanyahu’s speech, “it’s a horrendous, irresponsible message to send to Israel.” He called Israel “a free, democratic society thriving in an area of the world where radical Islamic extremism is growing most rapidly.”
Zeldin predicted many more Jewish voters will embrace Republicans because of Obama’s policies regarding Israel.
On Saturday, Israel’s Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog said that instead of warning the world about Iran’s nuclear program, the controversy around the speech had become damaging to Israeli-American ties.
Zehava Galon of the leftist Meretz party also called on Netanyahu to cancel his plans. Centrist leader Yair Lapid said the speech’s fallout was “causing serious damage to Israel’s strategic relations with the United States.”
Meanwhile, former Israeli Mossad chief Shabtai Shavit joined a group of former top security officials calling on Israel’s leadership to do more to pursue peace with the Palestinians.
Speaking to Israel’s Channel 2 TV, Shavit said Israel should say it accepts the long-dormant 2002 Arab peace plan, which offered comprehensive peace with the Arab world in exchange for a peace agreement with the Palestinians. The plan hasn’t been given serious consideration since it was floated in the midst of a violent Palestinian uprising more than a decade ago.
Obama and Netanyahu have clashed repeatedly over the years, even though both say a close U.S.-Israel alliance is essential. Only days ago, the White House again criticized Israel’s policy of building Jewish settlements on West Bank and East Jerusalem areas that Palestinians claim.