Dems give Israeli ambassador earful over Netanyahu speech

Source: Associated Press

Dems give Israeli ambassador earful over Netanyahu speech
By DONNA CASSATA and CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press | February 4, 2015 | Updated: February 4, 2015 6:28pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a sometimes heated meeting with Israel's ambassador to the U.S., several House Democrats expressed anger Wednesday over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's acceptance of a Republican invitation to address Congress next month.

Some of the seven lawmakers — all of whom are Jewish and strong supporters of Israel — urged the prime minister to postpone the speech or hold it somewhere other than Congress, participants said. They told Ambassador Ron Dermer that Netanyahu was unwise to accept a GOP invitation that bypassed President Barack Obama, and to schedule the speech only two weeks before Netanyahu seeks another term in Israel's elections.

The meeting's purpose was "to try to defuse the optics" of the planned speech to Congress, and to return to substantive issues involving the two nations, said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., who hosted the gathering in his House office. Some attendees suggested a different time or venue for a Netanyahu speech, Israel told reporters, but "we have a while to go before we have to address whether or not he's coming."

Netanyahu's March 3 speech would focus largely on Iran — and its nuclear program — amid delicate negotiations involving the United States, other Western powers and Tehran. Netanyahu's acceptance of House Speaker John Boehner's invitation has infuriated the White House and many congressional Democrats.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Dems-give-Israeli-ambassador-earful-over-6061907.php