“The days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of foes, those days are over,” Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the US Congress Tuesday. “Moses gave us a message that has steeled our resolve for thousands of years: Be strong and resolute, neither fear nor regret.” Netanyahu spoke to the US Congress on Tuesday in an unwelcome visit that has emerged as a hot topic among America's media and chattering classes. On Monday, one day before his appearance in front of the US Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a bipartisan pro-Israel lobby. United States President Barack Obama declined to attend either Netanyahu's AIPAC address or his speech to Congress. Vice President Joe Biden, who serves as president of the Senate, and Secretary of State John Kerry were abroad at the time of Netanyahu's visit to Washington. Kerry dismissed the visit as “overrated” and stressed that the Obama administration did not wish to turn the event “into some great political football.” The absences reflect the fact that the Democrats and Republicans disagree over key issues of foreign policy and that Netanyahu is seeking to exploit these differences. House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to the US last month without consulting the White House. His visit has been fraught with controversy as he has stepped into a political powder keg, with Republicans and Democrats vying for power in the American political fray. Boehner claimed that Netanyahu would be able to speak about Iran's nuclear programme, the subject of the Tuesday speech, “better than anyone,” even as differences between the Democratic and Republican perspectives on Iran have exacerbated of late. The Democrats have adopted a more conciliatory stance towards Iran, a view deeply resented by Netanyahu and many influential Republicans. Over the past decade, the Democrats have also appeared increasingly indifferent to the US's chief ally in the Middle East, Israel. “I think AIPAC would really rather not get involved in this whole political mess and probably feels pretty uncomfortable about the whole thing,” said Ilan Goldenberg, former chief of staff to the State Department's special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. California Senator Diane Feinstein, the top Democrat in the Senate, stated tongue in cheek that she would attend the congressional meeting, but that she would not “jump up and down” over entertaining Netanyahu. Iran insists that its nuclear programme is intended for peaceful purposes, and the Obama administration is prepared to listen and learn. “Our hope is that diplomacy can work,” Kerry stated. Israel and several key Republicans are concerned that the Obama administration is increasingly coordinating policies with Iran, especially in the war against terrorism and in the conflict with the Islamic State (IS) group. The administration has dismissed such suggestions and notes that it has serious differences with Iran over such issues as the Houthi insurgency in Yemen, the strategic Red Sea nation that commands the Bab Al-Mandab Straits. Along with several other Western powers, Washington has shifted its diplomatic representation in Yemen from the capital Sanaa to Aden, Yemen's economic capital and main port on the Arabian Sea. For now the overwhelming reaction in the White House has been one of relief, with Netanyahu's pompous bearing in Washington coming to naught. Even in Israel, Netanyahu's hubris has been dismissed, and the country's Labour-Hatnuah coalition opposition leader Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister, warned that a responsible Israeli prime minister ought to “know how to work with the president of the United States, or any president, and protect our most important interests.” Israel's ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, masterminded the Netanyahu congressional address. No other world leader has ever attempted to go over the head of a US administration to lobby directly to Congress on a delicate matter of foreign policy. As a result of the visit, Netanyahu's Likud Party now stands accused of compromising Israel's special relationship with Washington. Any strengthening of Israeli-American relations cannot be confined to dishing out more powers to a Republican-led Congress. Washington will now need to wait for Congress to clarify what the implications of Netanyahu's address to AIPAC and Congress have been. Besides discovering any unintended repercussions, the world will be watching to see how the drama unfolds. Meanwhile, according to the US magazine the New Republic, Republican presidential hopefuls Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and John Kasich trooped to “Las Vegas to pay tribute to GOP [Republican] funder Sheldon Adelson and the Republican Jewish Coalition that he bankrolls.” Christie has been severely criticised by Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organisation of America, which Adelson also funds, for calling the West Bank “Occupied Territories” instead of the names chosen by Israel of “Judea and Samaria.” “At a minimum, you should call it ‘disputed territories',” Klein admonished Christie. It will be worth watching what the long-term results of Netanyahu's escapade will turn out to be, both for Israel and for the special relationship it enjoys with the US. Few other foreign heads of state would have dared to interfere in US domestic politics as Netanyahu has done, and there is every reason to suspect that he and Israel could pay dearly for his reckless adventure. For now, there is talk of a considerable “Israel gap” between Democrats and Republicans, according to the Republican Jewish Coalition.
