WASHINGTON — When President Obama’s national security adviser sat down with her Israeli counterpart at the White House last week, she upbraided him over leaks in Jerusalem that the Americans interpreted as an attempt to undermine nuclear negotiations with Iran.
The meeting, shielded from the public but fraught with tension, brought home the depth of the frustration between Mr. Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is a mutual enmity that has only grown in recent days as Mr. Netanyahu prepares to address the Republican-led Congress next week about the dangers of a possible nuclear deal with Iran.
What started out last month as a dispute over a speech has consumed the two sides ever since, threatening long-term consequences and possibly fracturing America’s tradition of bipartisan support for Israel. The president’s national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, evidently was not mollified by the meeting with Yossi Cohen, her Israeli counterpart, since she said in a television interview on Tuesday night that Mr. Netanyahu’s actions were “destructive” because they were injecting partisanship into the relationship.
Susan E. Rice, President Obama’s national security adviser, said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress posed a problem for the Israeli-American relationship.
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With the exception of that one word, she was following the standard script that the White House has used recently. The White House strategy has been to sit back and let Mr. Netanyahu endure the criticism he has generated. White House officials said she was not trying to escalate by using the word “destructive” — no talking points were sent in advance to American officials — but she clearly felt license to say it, and it reflected the lack of any imperative on the part of the White House to try to smooth over the clash.
Peter Baker reported from Washington, and Jodi Rudoren from Jerusalem. Isabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis from Washington.
A version of this article appears in print on February 26, 2015, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. Toughens Stance as Ties to Israel Fray. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
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