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By Shmuel Rosner
If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is correct, if the leaks are to be believed, the Obama administration is edging toward an agreement with Iran that would temporarily restrict, but not eliminate, Iran’s capacity to eventually produce nuclear weapons. The government of Israel finds these terms dangerous.
The speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, rightly contends that Mr. Netanyahu, after spending much of his political life thinking about such issues, is more qualified than most world leaders to, as Mr. Boehner put it, “talk about the threat of radical terrorism” and “the threat that the Iranians pose.” So Mr. Boehner invited Mr. Netanyahu to discuss the question of Iran before the United States Congress on March 3.
For the sake of Israel, that speech had better not take place.
The point of the address, in the eyes of Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Boehner, was to bolster the position of legislators from both the Republican and the Democratic parties who think that the Obama administration is about to give up more than it will gain and that a better deal could be reached if more pressure were applied on Tehran. The speech was supposed to prompt Congress to impose more sanctions against Iran and demand that any framework agreement proposed by the president be subject to congressional approval.
However well intentioned, Mr. Boehner’s move backfired. Inviting a foreign leader without the president’s blessing is a breach of protocol, and the Obama administration has shrewdly hyped up its indignation to pre-emptively spoil the effects of Mr. Netanyahu’s visit. Democratic legislators felt compelled to take sides, and predictably chose Mr. Obama’s. That turned a policy tide: Shortly after Mr. Boehner extended the invitation, 10 Democratic senators agreed to postpone a vote on an Iran sanctions bill that just days before they were claiming to support.
Some Democrats, as well as Israeli politicians, have urged Mr. Netanyahu to cancel his address: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has announced hewill not be attending the congressional session that day, and Democratic legislators are threatening to do the same.
How embarrassing. In Israel Mr. Netanyahu’s rivals and pundits from the unsympathetic left claim this is just deserts for his self-serving motivations: The prime minister is running for re-election in mid-March. The accusation is unfair. Mr. Netanyahu’s position on Iran — that Iran must not be allowed to become a “threshold” nuclear state — has been so consistent for so long there is no reason to doubt it is genuine.
But speaking up next month before the United States Congress would not serve Israel’s interests. Instead of being an opportunity to seriously address the risks of Iran’s nuclear program, such a speech would scuttle the discussion. Already, by accepting Mr. Boehner’s ill-advised invitation, Mr. Netanyahu has further alienated a White House in which he has few fans and embarrassed Democrats in Congress, pushing away even those who are sympathetic to his concerns about Iran. And he has turned Israel into a political football.
For many years and through many crises, Israel has enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress. The House of Representatives passed major Israel-related laws, like the Israel Qualitative Military Edge Enhancement Act and the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act, by crushing majorities or unanimity. Now Mr. Boehner’s invitation has fissured that common front.On Monday, there were some reports — reliability unclear — that Mr. Netanyahu was considering alternatives to the speech. Better late than never. Of course, canceling the speech would be somewhat humiliating, not just for him but also for United States Republicans: Some lame excuse would have to be found, a smug response from the White House would have to be endured. But it’s a blow that Republicans could, and hopefully would, be ready to absorb. After all, they have long claimed that they and their constituents make fairer friends than their Democratic counterparts, and what better way to prove that than to take a hit for Israel?
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