[Peace-discuss] at HuffPo: Rep. Keith Ellison: Postpone Bibi's Speech to Congress

[Robert Naiman]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/keith-ellison-netanyahu_b_6575504.html

[...]

Controversy is spreading around House Speaker John Boehner's decision to
invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ("Bibi") Netanyahu to address
Congress on March 3. The invitation is controversial for three reasons: 1)
contrary to precedent, Boehner did not consult the White House or the House
Democratic leadership in scheduling the speech; 2) the speech will be two
weeks before the Israeli election, essentially making the U.S. Congress the
backdrop for a speech in Netanyahu's re-election campaign, also contrary to
precedent; and 3) the express purpose of the speech is to bash President
Obama's Iran policy and demand that Congress pass new sanctions on Iran,
which would blow up the U.S./Europe-Iran talks and put the U.S. on a path
to war with Iran, as European leaders
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/on-irans-nuclear-programs-give-diplomacy-a-chance/2015/01/21/0cdb4dcc-a185-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html>
and
the Congressional Progressive Caucus
<http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/hot-topics/progressive-caucus-urges-senate-and-house-committees-to-postpone-new-iran-sanctions-legislation>
have
warned.

J Street <http://act.jstreet.org/sign/Send_Boehner_A_Message> and Americans
for Peace Now <http://peacenow.org/entry.php?id=10357#.VMqqsGTF-rw> have
called for Netanyahu's talk to be postponed. Former Israeli Ambassador to
the U.S. Michael Oren
<http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.638809>, the mainstream
political opposition in Israel
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/middleeast/israeli-opposition-takes-aim-at-netanyahu-over-planned-speech-to-congress.html>
, former Israeli President Shimon Peres
<http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Peres-on-Netanyahu-speech-When-the-US-president-tells-you-not-to-come-to-US-you-dont-go-389415>,
and the editorial board of the *New York Times*
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/opinion/john-boehner-benjamin-netanyahu-playing-politics-on-iran.html>
have
denounced the planned speech. Even *Fox News
<http://www.vox.com/2015/1/24/7884311/netanyahu-boehner-fox-news> *thinks
Bibi and Boehner are out of line.

Now, Reps. Keith Ellison (co-chair of the Congressional Progressive
Caucus), Steve Cohen, and Maxine Waters are circulating a letter
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/democrats-john-boehner-benjamin-netanyahu-speech-114695.html>
to
Speaker Boehner, asking him to postpone the invitation until after the
Israeli election and after Congress has considered the issue of Iran
sanctions.

This sets up a sharp choice for Members of Congress: stand with the
Boehner-Bibi axis or stand with President Obama? A signature on the Ellison
letter is a decision to stand with President Obama.
[...]

===
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
(202) 448-2898 x1
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