Netanyahu Address Divides Democrats, Because They Hate Israel

Netanyahu should be uniting the Democrats, but then, they're the party of progressive anti-Semitism, so this is no surprise.

At LAT, "Netanyahu's U.S. speech drives a wedge between Democrats, Israel":

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned address to Congress next month is driving an uncomfortable and rarely seen wedge between congressional Democrats and Israel — and that may have been exactly what House Speaker John A. Boehner and other Republicans intended.

For many Democrats, and especially the more than two dozen Jewish members of Congress, Boehner's decision to invite Netanyahu to speak about Iran's nuclear program — despite objections from the White House — is forcing them to choose between their president and their long-standing support for Israel.

On Thursday, Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) became the third Jewish Democrat to say he would not attend the planned joint session speech, a surprising expression of protest in contrast to the usual outpouring of support and standing ovations U.S. lawmakers lavish on Israel's leader.

"There's a tension," said Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), who has not decided whether to attend. "The prime minister's coming puts us who are supportive of Israel in a difficult position, especially as Jews who do support Israel, because I think it's totally inappropriate to come at this time."

At least 20 other members of Congress have also vowed to skip the speech. Some see Netanyahu's visit as an affront to the president, while others view it as the latest in a continuing effort by Republicans to upset the ties between Democrats and Jewish American voters and donors.

Boehner insisted the invitation was intended only to give a key ally a forum for discussing the Iran nuclear talks, in which Israel has a significant stake.

But privately, Republican aides haven't hidden their delight at how the issue is vexing Democrats, without conceding that was the intent.

Democrats suspect politics were part of the reason Boehner broke the usual protocol by not coordinating the invitation of a foreign leader with the White House.

"I don't know what's in the speaker's mind," said Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel, who represents a district in south Florida with a sizable Jewish population and plans to attend the speech. "He could be thinking about Iran, he could be thinking about politics.… I am just very disturbed — and I would say upset — that Israel is to be used as a political football."

Though Israel has long coveted the bipartisan support it enjoys in Congress, Netanyahu's Likud Party and U.S. Republicans have moved closer together in recent years, joined by shared conservative ideologies and hawkish foreign policies. Evangelicals, who are often more pro-Israel than many Jewish Americans, have also pushed the GOP toward greater support of the Netanyahu government.

So have wealthy donors like casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who contributed more than $100 million to Republicans in the 2012 campaign and is expected to be a major player in the 2016 presidential race. Adelson, who is Jewish and is married to an Israeli, is also one of Netanyahu's biggest political patrons; he owns a free, pro-government daily newspaper in Israel that has become one of the country's most-read.

But in the U.S., 70% of American Jews identify with the Democratic Party, while just 22% with the GOP, according to a 2013 study by Pew Research Center. President Obama won 69% of the Jewish American vote in 2012, according to exit polling reported by NBC News, though support dropped from 78% in his 2008 election.

"You're seeing an emerging split between a part of the community that is politically in line with the prime minister and in line with the Republican Party, and a part of the community that is more supportive of a progressive political agenda here and the Labor Party there," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group. Boehner's invitation "has successfully exposed that that difference can no longer be papered over."

Obama publicly declined this week to offer advice to fellow Democrats when asked whether they should attend Netanyahu's address, though he has said he wouldn't meet with the prime minister when he comes next month, citing the proximity to Israel's March 17 election.

Vice President Joe Biden, who would usually attend the speech as the president of the Senate, is proceeding with plans to travel abroad then.

Amid the initial controversy over the invitation, top Israeli officials worked the halls of the U.S. Capitol last week to gauge the level of concern, particularly among Democrats...

The Dems. The party of hate.