Bipartisan Unity in Danger as Premier Sides With GOP Congress
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Washington Within one week, the fundamentals of the mainstream pro-Israel community have been shaken like never before.
Its centerpiece legislative effort the drive to impose new sanctions on Iran has been frozen in place and, more importantly, the notion that support for Israel is a bipartisan issue in American politics has suffered a serious blow.
The source of the setbacks suffered by the organized Jewish community could be tracked down to one event: House Speaker John Boehners January 21 invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak on Iran in front of a joint meeting of Congress and Netanyahus acceptance of the invitation, by prearrangement without consulting Boehners Democratic counterparts and without telling President Obama about his outreach to a head of state to visit. From that moment, events spiraled downward quickly, leaving the community with more questions than answers and with blame being assigned in all directions.
When Rep. John Yarmuth, a Jewish Democrat from Kentucky, was asked about the latest entanglement, he pointed to the large American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobby group, and to big donors as responsible for pushing Congress far to the right on issues relating to Israel. Unfortunately, Yarmuth told liberal radio host Stephanie Miller, some of the demands made of [Congress] members by AIPAC and by some Jewish supporters are that we defer to Israel more than we defer to the United States.
Turning Israel into a partisan issue has long been the greatest fear of pro-Israel advocates who argue that in the long run, the Jewish state needs support from both parties in order to remain Americas closest ally. Events surrounding the GOPs invitation to Netanyahu have raised concerns in the Jewish community that siding with Israel, and specifically adopting its view regarding the threat posed by a nuclear armed Iran, have now become a political football.
It is too important an issue to politicize it, said Abraham Foxman national director of the Anti Defamation League, who argued against Netanyahus visit to Washington.
For Democrats, such as Yarmuth, it was clear who was at fault for this politicization: the Republicans and those in the pro-Israel establishment who support their views.
Israel needs bipartisan support and I am worried that when you take an individual issue and try to drive a wedge, it weakens the long term foundations of this relationship, said Greg Rosenbaum, chair of the National Jewish Democratic Council, who is also a top-level AIPAC member.
Link:
Benjamin Netanyahu Stuns Israel Backers by Embracing Republicans on Iran