Israeli Opposition Takes Aim at Netanyahu Over Planned Speech to Congress

[herding cats]

Source: NYT

JERUSALEM — Michael B. Oren, who spent four years as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ambassador to Washington, has called on Mr. Netanyahu to cancel his speech to Congress about Iran. Amos Yadlin, a former military intelligence chief who frequently briefed the Israeli prime minister on security matters, denounced the event as “irresponsible.”

Both men criticized their former boss for politicizing a vital Israeli interest. Both also have their own political motives: Mr. Oren is running for Parliament with a new center-right party, and Mr. Yadlin is the defense-minister designee of the center-left party Zionist Camp.
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If Mr. Netanyahu imagined that the speech, scheduled for two weeks before the March 17 elections in Israel, would bolster his status as statesman, the undiplomatic way it was arranged has instead given his challengers an opening to undermine his main campaign platform. The backlash, not only from the White House but also from Congressional Democrats, has reverberated in Israel, where maintaining bipartisan support in Congress is considered as crucial as preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

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As in America, conservatives like Mr. Netanyahu tend to have the advantage when election campaigns are about security, and so far his opponents have emphasized pocketbook issues and corruption. But political analysts say that international isolation is a prime public concern of Israelis, and that attacking Mr. Netanyahu for deteriorating relations with Washington, Israel’s main defender on the world stage, could be a winning message in a tightening race.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/middleeast/israeli-opposition-takes-aim-at-netanyahu-over-planned-speech-to-congress.html

[George II]

1. Looks like the only people okay with Netanyahu, world-wide, are Boehner and McConnell

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that the speech gets cancelled before it takes place.

[Chemisse]

2. And this is why the White House does not meet with heads of state who are up for election.

Too bad Boehner is too short-sighted to realize what a mess he was going to make of all this.

[madokie]

4. boehner is a drunk

drunk people sometimes do stupid and dumb thing

[another_liberal]

3. He is presuming a Republican win next year . . .

That may be a serious mistake on his part.

[Chemisse]

5. Clearly he doesn't understand American politics then

If he thinks the Republican surge in the Congress represents a trend. The midterms went Republican because only the party faithfuls turned out. The dynamics of the general election are much different.

And let's hope he is not even in power then anyway.

[leftynyc]

6. Fox news bubble

Same reason he felt safe campaigning for Mitt Romney. Everybody who watches fox exclusively thought Romney was going to win.

[Johnny Rash]

7. I just can't see what his fascination with Mr. Netanyahu really is?

If he likes the dude from Israel so much, why doesn't he just move there? That will spare us a lot of Rhetoric BS.