Pro and con Netanyahu rhetoric heats up

Compiled by Donald H. Harrison

The rhetoric is heating up over the scheduled March 3 speech that Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahyu is scheduled to give to a Joint Session of Congress.

Jeremy Ben Ami, execuitve director of J Street, has taken umbrage at Netanyahu saying that he will give his speech “not just as the prime minister of Israel but as a representative of the entire Jewish people.”

Said Ben Ami: “I don’t know about you, but he doesn’t speak for me.” He urged email correspondents to sign a petition to be sent to Israel’s Ambassador Ron Dermer saying that Netanyahu doesn’t speak for American Jews.

Meanwhile, the Zionist Organization of America’s President Morton Klein has criticized Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judiasm, Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, and Ben Ami of J Street “for pressuring PM Netanyahu to cancel his critically important speech on Iran.” While he was at it, Klein also criticized the American Jewish Committee and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for not speaking out forcefully in favor of Netanyahu’s speech, which resulted from an invitation from House Speaker John Boehner and which is opposed by the Obama administration.

Said Klein: “We must never again be the Jews of appeasement and paralyzing fear. As Winston Churchill said, ‘Those who appease the crocodile will simply be eaten last.’ We must speak out with strength and pride. We must publicly state that President Obama is endangering America and Israel by his delaying and delaying on stopping Iran’s nuclear program. Iran continues to enrich uranium and to work on developing improved centrifuges while refusing to get rid of its uranium and its 19,000 centrifuge stockpile. Iran keeps working on its Arak plutonium facility and its Parchin military facility that where it likely keeps secretly working on its nuclear program. And it keeps working on its ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) program whose only purpose is to carry a nuclear warhead which will be able to reach not only Israel and the West but our beloved country of America as well. Yet President Obama dawdles and fiddles, and defends Iran while Iran’s nuclear program progresses to the finish line, G-d forbid.”

In his blog on the ADL website, Foxman had this to say:

Israel is directly in the cross-hairs of Iran­ian ambi­tions for regional dom­i­na­tion, as are the Gulf states, Egypt, Jor­dan and oth­ers. Pres­i­dent Obama and many among the Amer­i­can peo­ple are rightly wary of entan­gling the U.S. in yet another Mid­dle East war and Euro­pean lead­ers are focused on their fal­ter­ing economies, which would ben­e­fit from the reopen­ing of full trade with Iran.

This is pre­cisely the moment when there should frank, direct and open dis­cus­sion of the dif­fer­ent perspectives.

Now is exactly the time when Israel’s leader should be hav­ing those dis­cus­sions with all who have a say in shap­ing pol­icy out­comes on this issue, includ­ing the U.S. Con­gress. And the views of America’s clos­est ally in the Mid­dle East should be heard, so pol­i­cy­mak­ers and the Amer­i­can peo­ple will have the ben­e­fit of hear­ing directly from Netanyahu how he sees what is at stake and what he believes is the best way to reach an agree­ment with Iran that will ensure the long term safety of Israel, the region and the world.

Yet, this point has been nearly oblit­er­ated by the waves of con­tro­versy sur­round­ing the invi­ta­tion to the prime min­is­ter to address Con­gress. I have called it a tragedy of unin­tended con­se­quences — and it is.

Instead of stay­ing laser-focused on the very real, very com­plex and very dan­ger­ous con­se­quences of the out­come of the nego­ti­a­tions with Iran, the pub­lic dis­course is now being hijacked by pol­i­tics.

It is being dom­i­nated by mock­ing come­di­ans, moan­ing pun­dits and manip­u­lat­ing politi­cians all talk­ing about who is insult­ing whom, who will and who won’t be in the cham­ber for the speech, who may or may not be pun­ished for not show­ing up, who will get an elec­toral advan­tage from the appear­ance, and who won’t.

These are absolutely the wrong ques­tions, and this is absolutely the wrong time to be rais­ing them.

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The Jewish Citizen
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U.S. Senate

COMMUNITY COLLEGES — U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland.) on Monday, Feb. 9, led a roundtable discussion at the Community College of Baltimore County, Dundalk (CCBC Dundalk) on college affordability and President Obama’s recent proposal to make community college tuition-free for responsible students. “All Americans deserve a fair shot at success — particularly our students, who are trying to create better futures for themselves,” Cardin said afterwards. “When you hear from students how hard they and their families are working to get them into and through college – often assuming significant financial risks and amassing major debt – you quickly understand that we need to improve the American system of higher education. President Obama’s ‘America’s College Promise’ proposal, which would make a community college education tuition-free for responsible students, could benefit an estimated 9 million students could benefit each year. It holds the potential to positively redefine the norms of American public education.”

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DESERT CONSERVATION- U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both California Democrats, on Monday, Feb. 9 introduced the California Desert Conservation and Recreation Act of 2015 “to protect additional land and help manage California’s desert resources by carefully balancing conservation, recreation and renewable energy development,” according to Feinstein. “This piece of legislation is the final chapter in a long effort to preserve one of the most magnificent landscapes in the United States,”she added. “We must ensure that critical parts of the California desert—with its mountain vistas, bighorn sheep, mule deer, desert tortoises, Joshua trees, Native American petroglyphs and much more—will be protected for all time. This new bill preserves more land, sets aside off-road recreational sites and allows for the development of renewable energy in a responsible way. With so many competing uses for this land, it is essential that we come together to build consensus—and I am very grateful for all the groups and individuals who are working to do just that.”
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GREEK ECONOMY — Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind-Vermont), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, on Monday, Feb. 9, asked Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to provide assurances that American lending policies will not make the horrific economic situation in Greece even worse. “The United States cannot stand idly by while the European Central Bank undermines the new democratically elected government of Greece, induces deflation and risks financial instability,” Sanders said. “President Barack Obama was right when he recently noted, with regard to Greece: ‘You cannot keep on squeezing countries that are in the midst of a depression. At some point, there has to be a growth strategy in order for them to pay off their debts to eliminate some of their deficits.
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MEASLES–In light of the recent measles outbreak in the United States, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer on Monday, Feb. 9,  urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to make free measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines and booster shots widely accessible to schoolchildren and adults in the United States at schools and health clinics. So far this year, at least 102 people have contracted measles in fifteen different states, including New York. “It’s frightening that a harmful and very dangerous virus that was once eliminated in the U.S. is now back and moving fast. As one of the most contagious diseases out there, we need to do everything possible to prevent the measles from spreading before it becomes endemic,” he said. “Plain and simple, the CDC should make sure the measles vaccine and much-needed booster shots are made easily available and completely free at schools, health clinics and more, so that kids and adults can get their second booster dose and so others might consider vaccinating for the first time. Doctors should also work hard to better promote the importance of vaccines, and full coverage, among our children and adults. We need all hands on deck when preventing the spread of such a dangerous and highly contagious disease.”

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U.S. House of Representatives

UKRAINE–U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-New York) said on Monday, Feb. 9, :I agree with President Obama that a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis would be the best option.  I’m not sure President Putin agrees.  He has ignored the Minsk ceasefire agreement, and in fact has taken every opportunity escalate the war in Eastern Ukraine. I was in Munich over the weekend and met with Ukrainian President Poroshenko.  He described in vivid detail the Russian occupation, the murder of Ukrainian citizens, the need for weapons to fight back, and the hope that the United States would provide defensive weapons.Russian troops and weapons continue to inflict violence on the people of Ukraine and trample Ukrainian sovereignty.  As we search for a diplomatic path forward, we can help Ukraine protect itself and dramatically raise the costs for Mr. Putin by providing defensive weapons.  I’m glad that the President is considering this course of action.At the same time, we need to bear in mind that the future of Ukrainian democracy depends on a stable and vibrant Ukrainian economy.  Providing economic assistance to Ukraine today is a smart investment in the security and prosperity of Ukraine and Europe for the years ahead.  I’m glad that the President’s budget adds $100 million for Ukraine over last year and that the Administration plans an additional $2 billion in loan guarantees.In the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, Congress gave the President authority to offer both economic and lethal defensive assistance.  Now’s the time to use those authorities, and I urge the President to take these steps.”
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California Legislature

E-PRIVACY–State Sen. Mark Leno (D-California) has joined forces with numerous tech companies, including Engine, Facebook, Google, Mozilla and Twitter, to announce new legislation that “modernizes California’s privacy laws to keep up with emerging technologies.” Senate Bill 178 protects Californians against warrantless government access to private electronic communications such as emails, text messages and GPS data that are held on smartphones, tablets, laptops and other digital devices. “When it comes to digital privacy protections, California is in the dark ages,” said Leno. “The personal files in your desk drawer at home cannot be seized without a warrant, but the digital files on your smartphone and tablet, no matter how sensitive, do not have the same protection. This bill strikes the right balance between safeguarding Californians against improper government intrusion of their electronic data and protecting the right of law enforcement to use technology when it is needed to protect public safety.”
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Items about Jewish women serving in Congress are sponsored by Laura Galinson in memory of her father, Murray Galinson.

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  Your comment may be posted in the space below or sent to donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com