America
Democrats rally around Obama amid furore over Netanyahu Congress visit
The White House is growing
more confident it can withstand efforts to frustrate its policy of
nuclear talks with Iran, as a furore over the intervention of the
Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appears to be encouraging
wavering Democrats to rally around their president.
In the first
White House press conference since the Republican House speaker, John
Boehner,sparked controversy by inviting Netanyahu to speak before a
joint session of Congress amid calls for a tougher approach to Iran,
administration officials claimed there was support for their argument
that planned legislation authorising new sanctions, if talks fail, would
be counter-productive, The Guardian reported.
“I think there is
plenty of indication that the at least some members of Congress have
found this rather plausible line of argument pretty persuasive,†the
White House spokesman, Josh Earnest said.
Earnest refused to
speculate on a likely vote count, but sympathetic lobbyists in touch
with Democratic congressmen claim the polarising impact of Boehner’s
invitation to Netanyahu is making it harder for Republicans to reach a
veto-proof majority for the sanctions bill.
“This move by
Netanyahu has definitely backfired in terms of Democrats,†said Dylan
Williams, director of government affairs at J-Street, a Washington lobby
group which describes itself as pro-Israel but supports a two-state
peace process for a Palestinian state.
J-Street sent out a letter
to its US supporters Friday, urging them to warn their congressmen not
to support the visit, which will fall just two weeks before elections in
Israel.
“This invitation looks like a thinly veiled attempt to
scuttle the critical negotiations taking place right now aimed at
ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon,†said the letter.
“Bibi and Obama disagree on how to deal with Iran, and that’s fair. But a
foreign leader lobbying Congress is inappropriate.â€
On Friday a
senior Israeli opposition figure, Tzipi Livni, accused Netanyahu of
leading the country into “crisis and diplomatic isolationâ€, amid growing
criticism of his handling of relations with the US.
There is also concern among some Israeli-Americans that the incident may damage broader relations between the two countries.
The
national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, called
on Boehner to rescind the invitation, arguing “I certainly support the
sanctions on Iran if the diplomatic deal doesn’t come through, but
having said that, the invitation and acceptance is ill-advised for
either side. It is too important an issue to politicise it.â€
The
White House again dismissed claims that Obama will snub Netanyahu,
though the president said Thursday he would not meet the prime minister
during the visit. The White House said this was in keeping with a
practice that discourages US presidents from meeting with world leaders
ahead of elections.