News
Netanyahu invited to address Congress without White House knowledge
US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner yesterday invited Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress next month, extending the invitation without first informing the White House.
In a statement announcing the invitation, Boehner said, “In this time of challenge, I am asking the prime minister to address Congress on the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life.” Boehner and other Republicans in Congress are spearheading proposed legislation which would re-impose sanctions on Iran if an agreement on its nuclear programme is not concluded by the end of June. President Obama made clear in his recent State of the Union address that he would oppose such legislation, as he believes it could derail the delicate ongoing negotiations with Iran.
Boehner’s invitation clearly came as a surprise to the Obama Administration. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “The protocol would suggest that the leader of one country would contact the leader of another country when he’s traveling there. This particular event seems to be a departure from that protocol.” Earnest would not commit to a meeting between Obama and Netanyahu if the address takes place, commenting, “We’ll need to hear from them about what their plans are and what he plans to say in his remarks to Congress.”
Netanyahu’s office made no comment yesterday and it remains unclear whether Israel’s Prime Minister will accept Boehner’s invitation. Relations between Netanyahu and Obama have been characterised as frosty and the two leaders are thought to disagree over some aspects of a potential nuclear deal with Iran. Nonetheless, US Secretary of State John Kerry told AFP yesterday that Netanyahu is welcome to give a speech in the United States “any time” although the invitation was a “little unusual.”
A Congressional address by Netanyahu has been slated for 11 February, a little over a month before Israel’s general election. Domestic critics would likely view it as a crude political move to appeal to the electorate.