You may have thought at
first that these words were uttered by someone on the White House staff in response to
Netanyahu’s rude (to be kind), and irresponsible (to be accurate) acceptance of
an invitation to speak to our U.S. Congress on March 3.
You would be wrong. This excerpt came from Netanyahu’s former hand-picked
ambassador to the US, Michael Oren as reported on the Israel website YNET. Here is the full statement:
“The behavior over the
last few days created the impression of a cynical political move and it could
hurt our attempts to act against Iran. It’s advisable to cancel the speech to
Congress so as not to cause a rift with the American government. Much
responsibility and reasoned political behavior are needed to guard interests in
the White House.”
Granted, Mr. Oren recently
announced he is running for the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, as part of the Kulanu Party led by Moshe
Kahlon, a centrist in Israeli politics;
however, he is not alone in his criticism of Netanyahu’s brash and braggadocio
behavior on the world stage:
There are many prominent
Israeli journalists and politicians who abhor the brazenness of his move, along with Israeli supporters here in
the U.S., who were “sick to their stomachs. . .” when they heard the news – a
sentiment shared with Israeli columnist, Chemi Shalev. One of those staunch
supporters here in the U. S. was FOX News’ Chris Wallace:
“I’m shocked,” he
said. “For Netanyahu to do something
that is going to be seen as a deliberate and really pretty egregious snub of
Obama when Obama is going to be in power for the next year and three quarters
would seem to be a very risky political strategy.”
There are others too numerous to quote here. Suffice it to say that Netanyahu is a sly and successful politician, with a history of blatant publicity ploys used to his advantage; in this instance, however, he may have gone too far, considering the backlash over the last week.
Of course, complicit in this entire fiasco is our own John Boehner.
Speaker John Boehner should, without further ado, withdraw his invitation to Netanyahu until after the Israeli election and the new Prime Minister, whoever she/he is, has a legitimate mandate from the Israeli people -- untainted by the shameful ploys of unworthy politicians. There are many in the race who qualify.
As to our own illustrious Speaker of the House -- you embarrass me, John Boehner.
