A standing ovation greets the silver-haired Israeli prime minister as he ascends to the podium, pausing momentarily to exchange a few words with House Speaker Boehner. He received a similar welcome at the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday, but something was missing. In fact, a lot of somethings. Around 60 U.S. Congressman and women from the Democratic Party, to be exact, along with the Vice President of the United States. This symbolic boycott of the Prime Minister’s speech is not surprising, given that the invitation was given by Speaker of the House John Boehner behind the President’s back, and that it comes a few weeks before Israeli elections.
Not that they missed much. Netanyahu, speaking for a total of about 40 minutes said many of the same things he had said before the speech — including that the negotiations with Iran “will all but guarantee” a nuclear-armed Iran, and that President Barack Obama’s course of action “could very well threaten the survival of my country.”
I sat glued to my computer, listening to Bibi’s baritone voice with a mixture of disgust, confusion and urgency, which might seem contradictory and indeed feels so. I felt disgust at Speaker of the House John Boehner and Ambassador Ron Dermer for placing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in perhaps the most awkward position of the century. Netanyahu was caught between the proverbial rock and hard place: were he to refuse to come, he would look weak for Iran (the topic of discussion) and would look to be snubbing Republicans. Having accepted, he has now alienated Obama and many Democrats in Congress, unintentionally stoking a partisan conflict that has been going on since Obama stepped into office.
I feel confusion because two sides of me are at war. As a staunch defender of Obama, I want to rail against Netanyahu for even thinking of accepting Boehner’s request. I can’t quite bring myself to do that, because I’m also an American Jew that staunchly supports Israel, its right to exist and the right of its leadership to call out and respond to threats against its people.
This is probably where my urgency stems from. Even as Netanyahu was delivering his speech today, Secretary of State John Kerry was and still is negotiating a deal with Iran, and the controversy that this issue is generating is only helping them and may embolden to go further than they already have. Why?
1. This controversy is not just affecting people in the U.S., but also back in Israel. While many Israelis still support Netanyahu and praised his speech, some are starting to lose faith in Netanyahu’s ability to secure the country as he alienates almost half of the U.S. government, and it is emboldening his challengers in the upcoming Israeli elections. They are backed by many security officials, who have come out saying that Netanyahu is blowing the threat from Iran way out of proportion. The increasing division in Israel can only be welcome noise to its enemies.
2. Obama is seen as unable to control his allies or come to agreement with the members of the American government, and therefore may not be a credible negotiator with Iran about their nuclear weapons.
3. This diplomatic and partisan issue has caused a rift in the American-Israeli relationship, as evidenced by the absence of so many Congressmen and women from the speech. After all, on questions of Israel, Congress is usually strongly united.
Let’s forget about Israel for a second and examine Iran’s nuclear ambitions from a bigger standpoint. Not only would a nuclear weapon for Iran be a problem for Israel, but it would be an international security issue. Nuclear proliferation by Iran will cause Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other nations to want to possess a nuclear weapon in order to maintain the balance of power in the region. And let’s not forget about ISIS — what if one of these countries is overrun the way that Iraq was overrun, and to some extent still is?
Bibi and Barack have the same message: Go after Iran’s nuclear program. Instead of being divided through rhetoric in and through Congress, they should start working together very closely to make sure that this rift doesn’t become permanent.
Reach the columnist at jbrunne2@asu.edu or follow @MrAmbassador4 on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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