But when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an invitation from Republican House Speaker John Boehner to address Congress on Tuesday — when he is expected to sharply criticize White House deal-making with Iran — he alienated more than the Democrat who sits in the Oval Office. As administration officials have exchanged increasingly hostile volleys with Netanyahu, party stalwarts are warning of a Democratic exodus away from Israel.
They caution that the rancor over the speech could accelerate demographic and political trends that suggest support for Israel is becoming a partisan issue, with Republicans strongly pro and Democrats less so.
Already 30 House Democrats have said they will boycott the speech. And when two senior Democratic senators invited Netanyahu for a private conversation during his visit to Capitol Hill, he said no. (His office said he also turned down similar requests from Republicans because he didn’t want to politicize the visit.)
READ: 30 Democrats skipping Netanyahu’s speech
Senate leadership on Thursday announced that a bipartisan meeting with the Prime Minister had at last been arranged. But many in the Democratic Party say the damage done in the run-up to the speech will linger long past Tuesday.
Former Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat and staunch supporter of Israel who left office this year, said that because Netanyahu’s speech was seen as a rebuke of the President, Democrats feel the need to step up to defend Obama.
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Republicans have argued it’s Democrats who are politicizing the issue by refusing to attend a speech by a visiting head of state, one of the strongest U.S. allies abroad, and pointed to Rice’s comments as further evidence that Democrats are at fault.
But even some of Netanyahu’s supporters acknowledge both sides may be to blame for the politicization of the issue.
Malcolm Hoenlein, head of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and a close ally of Netanyahu, said “mistakes were made on both sides in the process.” He said it was still in dispute whether Boehner mismanaged the invitation, but emphasized that the controversy was past and that the two nations need to move on. Hoenlein echoed concerns of Democrats that politicizing Israel could have grave practical consequences for both nations.
“We don’t want this to ever become in any way partisan. It never has been. It can’t be now. And all those who try to make it partisan, I think, should be held to account,” he said.
Rosenbaum warned that the recent flap is likely to leave lasting damage. He charged that the GOP efforts “to make Israel a wedge issue” are “something they appear to be engaging in for short-term political gain but we believe will have a long-term negative impact.”
