Category: Benjamin Netanyahu

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All Eyes On Israel

We’re going to need our mucking boots today because we’re going to wade into the Middle East. Until now, I have assiduously avoided all mention of the region because it’s messy and confusing and controversial and, quite frankly, my ideas have, shall we say, evolved over time. But the events of the day are far too important and compelling for me to stay away from the issues, so I am now going to opine. With FEEling.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a first and world-class jerk who has no business actually running a government. His comments last week on the eve of the Israeli elections regarding a two state solution with the Palestinians and his warnings about Israeli Arabs voting in droves have only widened the differences between Israel and both the US government and many American Jews. His speech in front of Congress, orchestrated by the House Republican leadership and done without consulting or notifying the Obama Administration, was a new low in political gaming and rogue foreign policy. That the speech almost ended up actually costing Netanyahu his election, and thus his need to play the racist, far-right card, told us that he would do anything to win votes (not a bad thing in and of itself, mind you). His persistent warnings about Iran’s intentions to build a bomb and use it on Israel are complicating the nuclear talks between the US and Iran, and his approval of new Israeli settlements is angering our allies around the world.

And yet…

Netanyahu and his right wing government, is the only institution that is standing between Israel’s future existence and radical, terrorist, anti-Semitic entities that want to destroy it. His focus on Israel’s security is a prerequisite for winning and holding national office and, along with the economy, is the main issue for both domestic and foreign consumption. He’s a strong leader and has been able to navigate his way through the thickets of his country’s political system en route to 4 national election victories.

I support Israel and believe that it must survive and thrive as a testament to its Jewish roots, its democracy, its vibrant culture and its place as an island of hope in a hostile world. I also believe that there should be a state for the Palestinians because the present political and social arrangement is unsustainable and in some cases, inhuman. But now we are stuck because the current state of world affairs is so polarized and unforgiving that any compromise seems impossible. Radical Islamic groups would like nothing more than to see Israel destroyed. Israel needs to confront its adversaries and deserves the right to defend itself against attacks from both rockets and words.

What to do? The easy thing is to say that the Arab and Islamic states need to formally recognize that Israel exists and will continue to exist, and that the Israelis need to recognize that they will have to give up some land that they won in the six-day war of 1967. Militant groups will need to give up their weapons and stop using them against Israel, and Israel will need to loosen some of the border restrictions so that the Palestinians can freely conduct commerce and make their economy grow. Sounds easy, right?

Of course it isn’t and Netanyahu isn’t going to help. He’s going to hold a hard line now and wait to see who the next US president is going to be, hoping it’s someone he can work with, since his relationship with Obama is probably irreparable. I’m sure he’d love to see a more aggressive neo-conservative Republican, but I think Hillary Clinton would fit the bill too.

In the meantime, he’ll continue to oppose anything that might threaten Israel and will oppose any agreement with the Iranians. And there will be an agreement with the Iranians because deep down I think the Iranians want an agreement on their nuclear program. The Iranian economy is in shambles because of sanctions and the middle class (yes, there is a middle class) is demanding a place in the larger world. A nuclear agreement would also hold the Iranians to specific actions and inspections that, while there are many who say they will ultimately ignore any limits, will require Iran to play by the world’s rules if it wants to be taken seriously. I could be utterly misreading the politics, but I don’t think so. Attacking Israel with a nuclear weapon will only invite Iran’s destruction. They clearly don’t want that.

The prospects for genuine peace in the region look about as bleak as they ever have, and it will probably take a new generation of leadership to improve them. Of course, weren’t we saying the same thing in the 1970s?

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Benjamin Netanyahu Politics

Jon Stewart – Republicans Gave Netanyahu “The Longest Blowjob A Jewish Man Ever Received”

Not fo nuffin’, but Jon Stewart again hit it on the head… when he called the Republican’s response to Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, “the longest blow-job a Jewish man ever received!”

In the House chamber, there was no such reflecting. Netanyahu wrapped his speech up and it was time for another ten minutes of applause. Whether Netanyahu achieved his goal of sabotaging a deal with Iran or mistakenly opened up a riff in the U.S./Israeli relations, one thing is certain. The in chamber response to this speech was by far the longest blow job a Jewish man has ever received.

Stewart was of course talking about the Republican congressional speech Netanyahu gave at his Republican State of the Union Address, where he addressed a joint session of Congress about how terrible president Obama is for trying to get Iran to peacefully end their nuclear plans. Republicans loved hearing the foreign leader dogged Mr. Obama, and at the end of Benjamin’s speech, they awarded the Israeli leader with a thunderous applause… all that was left was for Ben’s pants to hit the floor!

Watch.

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Benjamin Netanyahu Politics

Dear Congress… Pick One – PIC

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Benjamin Netanyahu Politics

Israel Censored Netanyahu’s Congressional Republican Speech

“Editors-in-chief of broadcast channels will watch and make sure that nothing the prime minister says can be construed as election campaigning,” Salim Joubran, the head of Israel’s central election committee, said in an order two weeks ago. “Any campaigning will be omitted from the broadcast.”

It seems that even in Israel, people already knew the purpose of Netanyahu’s speech in Congress had nothing to dwo with Iran and everything to do with a political event, inspired by the Republican party. So they did what we should have done here, they blocked out the live feed of the event and placed a 5 minute delay in the broadcast to filter out any campaigning.

Yep. That’s what we should have done here.

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Benjamin Netanyahu Politics

Watch The Politics of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Republican Congress Speech

Republicans can pat themselves on the backs for this one. The managed to join the leader of a foreign nation in denouncing the president of the United States for trying to bring a peaceful resolution to Iran and their nuclear ambitions, and they did this right here on the floor of the
United States Congress.

Watch

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Benjamin Netanyahu Politics

US and Iran Continue Negotiations Despite Netanyahu’s Political Speech

On the eve of Netanyahu’s divisive and political speech to a joint session of congress, the US and Iran continued their negotiations to derail Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

By the shores of Lake Geneva in the town of Montreux, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif as they try to pin down a political framework for a deal to rein in Tehran’s nuclear programme by a March 31 deadline.

US officials said they began their talks at 9:33 am (0833 GMT).

After months of discussions, the two men launched this latest round of talks on Monday, and are due to continue negotiating until Wednesday afternoon, when Kerry will fly to Riyadh to meet King Salman.

Few details of the emerging deal have publicly come to light so far, but aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have threatened that may change when the Israeli leader makes a controversial address to the US Congress later Tuesday.

Kerry and his staff have warned Netanyahu against betraying US trust by revealing classified briefings about the course of the negotiations.

Netanyahu’s lobbying trip to Washington is seen as a last-ditch bid to derail one of the last key goals of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy.

But the US insists that a deal forged through diplomacy would be the best way to ensure Iran does not acquire a nuclear bomb.

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Elected, Perchance to Govern?

Mitch McConnell, moderate. I thought I’d never see that characterization, but after last week’s embarrassing, incompetent, dangerous gambit the House Republicans played, he’s looking like the only GOP adult in the room. John Boehner seems to have lost his caucus and is now dependent on the far right to dictate what gets done in the House, and what’s getting done is virtually nothing. Kicking the Homeland Security funding argument to this week will do nothing except make Friday night another frantic opportunity for brinkmanship and Obama-bashing. In the end, Homeland Security will get funding and the president’s immigration changes will stand. The real losers will be the people who work for the agency as they bite their nails and wait to see if they’ll be getting paid for another week. If terrorists read American news sources, they are surely laughing at us.

Not content to make itself look bad on the domestic front, the Republicans doubled down and asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come and speak to a joint session of Congress, an honor he will deliver this week. Never mind that his visit, essentially a jab at the Obama administrations efforts to negotiate a nuclear treaty with Iran, will only put more on strain US-Israel relations, although there are reports that things might be getting less strained. Mr. Netanyahu, I’m sure, will have important things to say. The problem is that he might want to think twice before attaching himself to the clown car Congress that can’t seem to find money to pay for homeland security, much less debate a serious issue like a possible Iranian nuclear weapon.

This is also the week that the Supreme Court will hear arguments in King v. Burwell, the case that challenges whether the federal government can give subsidies to people who buy health insurance on the federal exchange. The plaintiffs believe that only those who buy policies on state exchanges should get subsidies. Which of course begs the question, if the court rules for the plaintiffs, will they work feverishly to make sure that the states without exchanges set them up quickly so the law can work and millions of people can keep their health care?

Of course not.  This is most likely the final attempt to destroy a law that is working wonderfully and is fundamentally changing the health care landscape for the better. Also, the states that would suffer the most if the subsidies are struck down will be the poorest, reddest states in the country. You know, the ones whose citizens vote against their interests by electing governments that seek to limit the programs their people desperately need.

And the state that would suffer the most? Florida. Does Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio have a fall back plan if millions of Floridians lose their health insurance? No. Do both of them want to be president? Of course, but what a catastrophe either of them would be.

And finally, this week will see the rollout of the PARCC tests across the nation. School districts are hoping that their technology holds up and that students can navigate the many screen they’ll need to use in order to answer the questions. Some families have decided that they don’t want their students to participate, so they’ve opted out, or “refused” to take the tests as the officials like to characterize it, The testing will take almost three weeks and then return in late April or early May, taking more valuable time and resources from classrooms and actual learning. The tests will mean almost nothing to students, but for teachers, they will count for 10% of their yearly evaluation (in New Jersey, at least). I give these tests five years, and then the education establishment will move on to something newer.

March is certainly roaring in.

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Benjamin Netanyahu Politics

Netanyahu’s Ad Claims America Did Not Want Israel to Exist – AD

If Benjamin Netanyahu feels this way about America,  why is he coming here to address a joint session of congress?

Thanks Republicans! Netanyahu disrespects America,  and you invite him to address a branch of our government.

The black-and-white text reads, “In 1948, Ben-Gurion stood before a fateful moment: The creation of the State of Israel.”

The ad continues: “The U.S. secretary of state firmly objected [the establishment of Israel]. Ben-Gurion — contrary to the State Department’s position — announced the establishment of the state… Would we be here today had Ben-Gurion not done the right thing?”

The clip ends with the slogan “Only Likud. Only Netanyahu.”

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Benjamin Netanyahu Jews Politics Terrorism

Pure Insanity – Netanyahu Tells European Jews To Immigrate to Israel

Is this how we handle terrorism these days, to have everyone run back to their homeland? Isn’t that what the terrorists want… segregation?

In a speech on Sunday, Netanyahu, while talking about a Jewish man who was killed in an attack outside Copenhagen’s main synagogue. suggested the separatist way as the way to stop terrorism – segregation.

“Jews have been murdered again on European soil only because they were Jews,” Netanyahu said. “Of course, Jews deserve protection in every country, but we say to Jews, to our brothers and sisters: Israel is your home.”

Denmark’s chief rabbi Jiar Melchior said he was “disappointed” by Netanyahu’s invitation. “If the way we deal with terror is to run somewhere else, we should all run to a deserted island.”

Separately, Netanyahu also announced $45 million to encourage the immigration of Jews from France, Belgium and Ukraine in a government initiative planned before the Copenhagen attacks.

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Benjamin Netanyahu Politics

It’s All About Politics – A Blinded Boehner Sees Nothing Wrong with Netanyahu’s Speech

It’s all about the politics. It’s never about what’s best for the America people or what’s best for the country the pledged allegiance to. For Republicans, it’s all about politics and what’s best for their re-election and if it means disrespecting the president, then they’re all in.

Take this current issue surrounding the upcoming Netanyahu Congressional speech for example. Congressional Republicans are using this speech to not only divide the country with many Americans calling the move a huge mistake and a slap in the face of the Obama administration, but they are also driving a wedge between America and Israel. And this fact was brought up in a recent interview between Chris Wallace of Fox News and Republican House Speaker, John Boehner.

“Haven’t you taken one of the few bipartisan issues in this country — support for Israel — and turned it into a political football?” Wallace asked.

“I have not. The fact is that we had every right to do what we did,” Boehner responded. “I wanted the prime minister to come here. There’s a serious threat facing the world. And radical Islamic terrorists are not going to go away.”

“And then when it comes to the threat of Iran having a nuclear weapon, these are important messages that the Congress needs to here and the American people need to hear,” the speaker continued. “And I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the perfect person to deliver the message of how serious this threat is.”

Wallace then pointed out that Boehner asked Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., not to tell the White House about the joint meeting with Netanyahu.

“Why would you do that?” Wallace asked.

“Because I wanted to make sure that there was no interference. There’s no secret here in Washington about the animosity that this White House has for Prime Minister Netanyahu. I frankly didn’t want that getting in the way, quashing what I thought was a real opportunity,” Boehner responded.

Wallace challenged Boehner, commenting that the invitation created controversy.

“Shouldn’t the relationship between the U.S. and Israel be outside of politics?” he asked.

“It’s an important message that the American people need to hear. I’m glad that he’s coming, and I’m looking forward to what he has to say,” Boehner responded.

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Benjamin Netanyahu Politics

#GoodNews – Even More Democrats Plan to “Skip” Netanyahu’s Republican Speech

Since day one of this gross mistake engineered by John Boehner and the Republican party, Vice President Joe Biden had already said that he would not be attending. The vice president said a scheduling conflict was the culprit for him missing the Republican event. Then, various mention of the Congressional Black Caucus said they were not going. And now the list is growing.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said Monday he would skip the event, and that it was “wrong” that Obama was not consulted ahead of time. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) dismissed the speech as a “stunt” to the Chicago Sun-Times.

A few notable lawmakers said Monday they did plan to attend the address, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who said she was “deeply troubled that politics has been injected” into the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Obama did not directly address a question Monday on whether he thought lawmakers should skip the event, but acknowledged he and Netanyahu “have a very real difference around Iran sanctions.”

He also looked to shore up popular support for his diplomacy, saying he had no intention of allowing a third delay in the nuclear talks, and warning that if they failed, “options are narrow and they’re not attractive.”

Netanyahu was joined by Boehner’s office in offering public signals that the speech would go on.

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Benjamin Netanyahu Politics

Vice President Joe Biden Will Not Be Attending Netanyahu’s Republican Speech

I’m still waiting for all Congressional Democrats to stand up and join Vice President Joe Biden and members of the Black Caucus in denouncing this Netanyahu mockery of American politics.

Vice President Joe Biden is expected to miss Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial address to a joint meeting of Congress because of foreign travel, Biden’s office said Friday.

The announcement comes amid deep White House irritation over Netanyahu’s decision to accept an invitation from House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, without either party consulting the administration. The White House blasted the move as a breach of diplomatic protocol and said President Barack Obama would not meet with Netanyahu during next month’s visit.

But Biden, as president of the Senate, would typically have attended a joint meeting of Congress, taking his familiar seat just behind the speaker’s podium. Whether Biden would still carry out his ceremonial duties became the focus of increased speculation this week as some Democratic lawmakers said they planned to skip the March 3 speech.

On Friday, Biden’s office confirmed that the vice president was expected to be abroad during Netanyahu’s visit. Biden’s office did not announce any details of where the vice president would be traveling, but insisted the unspecified trip had been in the works before the prime minister’s speech was announced.

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