In an exchange that is reminiscent of a school yard fight or a childish disagreement,the Obama Administration chastised the Israeli Prime-Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not informing the White House before accepting an invitation from the Speaker of the House John Boehner to address a Joint Session of Congress on a pivotal subject concerning the security of the State of Israel as well as the United States. Namely, the urgency of reinstating more sanctions against the Iranian government in order to curtail its devious nuclear program before it attempts to strike the Jewish State and the rest of western civilization. Apparently, Mr. Obama is so insulted by the purpose of the Netanyahu Congressional speech that the White House has admonished Mr. Netanyahu that he will have an unspecified 'price to pay' if he addresses Congress.
Certainly, 70 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, it is within the Israeli Prime-Minister's diplomatic rights to accept an invitation to speak in front of any legislative body to warn the world of the dangers of a potential Iranian nuclear Holocaust if concrete action is not taken immediately. Furthermore, as the business of the Congress now rests in the hands of the Republican party, the Obama White House no longer has any jurisdiction to mettle in the affairs of the Republican Congress' decision to invite Prime-Minister Netanyahu to its corridors. Just as President Obama can invite anyone he desires to the White House, Speaker Boehner has the absolute right to invite any world leader he chooses to speak in front of a Republican Joint Session of Congress without first securing the approval of the Obama White House. More importantly, Mr. Netanyahu is a grown man and is not attached to the coattails of President Obama. He is not subject to the whimsical demands of the Obama Administration or required to coordinate his travel arrangements or speaking engagements on U.S. soil with the Obama Administration unless of course Mr. Netanyahu envisioned meeting with President Obama. However, we now know that any such encounter is not in the cards as both the President and the Secretary of State have emphatically stated that they will not meet with Mr. Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to Washington in March.
Moreover, in what amounts to pure unmitigated chutzpah, Mr. Obama has created a counterproductive rift in U.S.-Israel relations by inferring that Mr. Netanyahu has disrespected the Obama administration by bypassing the President of the United States in order to speak to a more accepting audience in Congress. Yet, even if that sentiment were true which it is not, President Obama does not have any credibility whatsoever to accuse the Prime- Minister of orchestrating a presidential snub. President Obama has his own long history of departing from diplomatic protocol to humiliate the Israeli Prime-Minister as an expression of disgust for Prime-Minister Netanyahu's policies.
In 2010 in an expression of misplaced outrage at Israel's settlement policy, Mr. Obama denied Prime-Minister Netanyahu any photo-ops or press conference with the President during his White House meeting which is a rarity. Moreover, it was reported that President Obama abruptly left Mr. Netanyahu alone during that 2010 meeting with his aides while he had dinner with his family. One Congressmen described President Obama's treatment of Prime-Minister Netanyahu during that 2010 meeting as being “reserved for the President of Equatorial Guinea.” In 2012, when Prime-Minister Netanyahu was visiting New York City for his U.N. General Assembly speech, President Obama opted for an appearance on the David Letterman show instead of meeting with Prime-Minister Netanyahu. More recently, it was leaked that an unrevealed White House official labeled Prime-Minister Netanyahu as “chickensh*t .” On other occasions, White House officials have referred to Mr. Netanyahu as “pompous, recalcitrant, obtuse, blustering and aspergery.”
Perhaps, the most glaring rejection of the Israeli Prime Minister has been Mr. Obama's consistent refusal to accept Mr. Netanyahu's sensible and critical position that pursuing open-ended negotiations with a tyrannical regime without the prospect of renewed sanctions only provides Iran with more uranium to build its nuclear weapons which greatly undermines Israel's security. Despite the necessity of Prime-Minister Netanyahu's position, President Obama continues to expect that Prime-Minister Netanyahu accommodate the White House's overtures to Iran even when the lives of Israeli citizens are in grave danger which is the epitome of arrogance.
As President Obama has an unyielding myopic vision for dealing with Iran, Prime-Minister Netanyahu had no other alternative but to align himself with a U.S Congress eager to confront the President on his misguided Iran policy.
Unfortunately, it now appears that President Obama is working behind the scenes to divide the U.S. Congress and encourage Democrats including U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden to boycott Prime-Minister Netanyahu's congressional speech effectively rendering support for Israel a partisan issue which it never used to be.
It is therefore President Obama- not Mr. Netanyahu- who has engaged in dicey politics at the expense of America's closest ally Israel.
Brad E. Kauffman is an attorney, writer and Pro-Israel activist