Not your Father’s Israel: Extremist Israeli PM Netanyahu is Playing Biden and Blinken for Fools
Though Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries signed onto inviting Israeli PM Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu to address Congress on July 24 in the “spirit of bi-partisanship,” many US and Israeli Jews loudly object. They plan a major demonstration in Washington to show up his address. The organization UnXeptable is organizing an effort to have Bibi’s Congressional speaking invitation rescinded. Considering Schumer’s bold break to become the highest ranking elected Jewish-American to call for Bibi’s resignation, it is surprising he would execute this abrupt about-face and sign on to such an outrageous invitation. While Bibi’s showmanship may be entertaining in a dark Trumpian way, no one expects him to have a sudden epiphany, and decide to embrace US leadership or to honor a cease fire in Gaza. He is not an honorable negotiating partner.
Biden and the Democrats do not get the sea change in Israeli politics under this government, into which Netanyahu invited the most extreme factions of Jewish Power and Religious Zionism. One of his predecessors, Ehud Barak, served honorably as Israeli PM from 1999 to 2001, and has a distinguished record as a general. He sees Bibi as trying to stage a judicial coup, “with its goal of establishing a racist, ultranationalist, messianic and benighted religious dictatorship.”
It’s painfully obvious that Bibi is playing President Joe Biden for a stooge. After he upstaged President Barack Obama with a speech to Congress in 2015, it is absolutely mystifying that Democrats would leave themselves open to another choreographed insult with this invitation. Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken are letting Bibi make fools of them. While Donald Trump hopes to be president again to stay out of jail, Bibi is struggling to stay in power to avoid going to prison. But Biden and Blinken act as though they are dealing with an decent ally, rather than a wily and treacherous war monger.
Bibi is openly mocking Biden! Despite his reticence to deny significant military aid to Israel despite its deliberate atrocities in Gaza, Biden did withhold one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs in response to the Rafah invasion, which crossed Biden’s red line. These munitions cannot be used in Rafah in any case, or ought not to be.
ILTV Israel News Video: “Netanyahu’s Video Prompts Furious Response From Biden Admin”
Haaretz columnist Yossi Verter called out how Bibi has dared to dictate to the US about its own foreign policy, when said, “It’s inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunition to Israel. Israel, America’s closest ally, is fighting for its life, fighting against Iran and our other common enemies.” Bibi forgets that Israel is the client-state, and the US is the benefactor and enabler. Bibi also had the audacity to compare himself to Winston Churchill, as if he’s a liberator rather than a genocidal oppressor.
The July 24 demo led by UnXeptable is appropriately titled, “Non-Grata.” Offir Gutelzon, founder of UnXeptable, said, “We hope that Jewish-Americans will get off the fence and join us. We know that the majority of them support the Biden plan to end the war and bring home the hostages, and they also must know that most Israelis oppose Netanyahu, so there is good reason to be there showing their solidarity with us.” Their campaign pitch states: “Benjamin Netanyahu has lost the faith of Israeli citizens, and does not deserve the honor of addressing Congress. UnXeptable calls on all who those who care about Israel’s future as a liberal and democratic state to join American Jews and Israelis, including families of hostages still held in Gaza,” in declaring Netanyahu to be persona non grata.
NYT columnist Thomas Friedman articulated objections to Bibi’s invitation to Congress, saying that Biden and Blinken are “debasing themselves” by going along. Doing so illustrates how badly most US leaders fail to recognize how destructively radical this Israeli government is. It is ludicrous to think Bibi could offer any thoughtful perspective, “to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combatting terror, and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region.” That’s because Bibi is actively destroying Israeli democracy and the justice system, with his Trumpian efforts to avoid prison by continuing as PM — and because he is inciting and promoting terror, not combatting it. He has adamantly and repeatedly refused to work toward any long-term peace agreement, and insists on prosecuting the genocidal campaign in Gaza.
Though he called for Bibi’s resignation in March, Schumer said he signed on, “because America’s relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends one person or prime minister, I joined the request for him to speak.” That presumes that Bibi is a reasonable man, open to embracing new ideas and approaches. Many prominent Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren plan to boycott the event. She said, “Prime Minister Netanyahu has created a humanitarian catastrophe. He has also made clear that he does not support U.S. policy for a two-state solution that will let the people of Israel and the Palestinians develop their own national self-determination and live with dignity.”
Meanwhile, disingenuous Republicans continue with their campaign of divisiveness, and wail their phony concerns about anti-Semitism (while promoting it with their unqualified support of Bibi’s government, among other factors.) They fail to recognize that the genocide in Gaza is driving global anti-Semitism worse than any time since WWII. Republicans are weaponizing anti-Semitism as a cudgel of divisiveness for the US electorate. Though Biden is also guilty of some pandering to weaponize anti-Semitism, Trump and Republicans employ this tactic with greater cynicism to their perceived advantage. Bibi’s July 24 invitation is designed by Speaker Mike Johnson to elicit cat-calls and insults from House Democrats, in order to alienate Jews from their Democratic loyalties, and drive them to vote for Trump. So many are sitting this one out. It’s yet another attempt by Bibi to interfere with US electoral politics, as no Israeli or other foreign leader has ever done; that is beyond Putin’s brazen election interference to aid Trump in 2020. Both Putin and Bibi are biding their time for Trump’s re-election, and doing all they can to promote it.
Bibi’s goal is to expand Israel’s territory with permanent annexations of the West Bank and Gaza in violation of international law, and in the teeth of overwhelming world opinion. He doesn’t deserve a platform in a joint session of Congress to promote this aggressive expansionism. With a Republican majority in the House, the invitation won’t be rescinded. Ideally, both Schumer and Jeffries would revisit their foolish invitation, and withdraw their support. They can do it gracefully by pointing out how quickly the situation in Gaza has deteriorated under Bibi’s leadership and campaign of genocide. They signed on. They should sign off!
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