The speech itself is a terrible mistake. Arranging it without prior consultation with the White House was not only an affront to Barack Obama but to the Presidency itself.
One would have thought that after all the uproar, Netanyahu would have caught a “cold” and postponed, but now that he plans to go ahead, he should at least give a measured, thoughtful address — not the barn burner for which he is known. But let’s be clear: he also deserves a respectful hearing in Congress from both sides of the aisle. Blame for the deterioration in relations is shared here in America as well as in Israel.
This conflict began on a personal level. Those close to Obama and Netanyahu say the two men took an instant dislike years ago and have since descended into loathing one another. Obama, they say, regards Netanyahu as headstrong, bombastic and reckless. Netanyahu sees Obama as weak, unreliable and priggish.
The Obama team also accuses Netanyahu of timing his Congressional speech to rally Israeli voters behind him in elections two weeks away — Bibi as Churchill standing up to the Nazis — while Netanyahu’s team is convinced Obama is desperate for a deal to burnish his legacy — the Nobel laureate who brought peace. Each thinks the other endangers the future of the world and each has allowed his top lieutenants to viciously attack the other in the press.
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In short, the moment is dire but not hopeless. What is clearly needed is a cease fire. Secretary Kerry seemed to be pointing in that direction Sunday when he said Netanyahu is welcome to speak in the U.S. on Tuesday. Others should now take up the cause, recognizing that our real adversaries are not in Tel Aviv or Washington but among those in Teheran who support terror and mayhem across the Middle East.
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