Netanyahu: Speech is on threat to Israel

Respect for Obama, office ‘great,’ he says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 2015 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, Monday, March 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 2015 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, Monday, March 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

WASHINGTON -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that his planned address to Congress scheduled for this morning is not meant to signal any disrespect for President Barack Obama, nor to insert political partisanship into the U.S.-Israel relationship.

"Never has so much been written about a speech that hasn't been given," Netanyahu said. "My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the esteemed office that he holds. I have great respect for both."

Speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday, Netanyahu said he intends to focus his remarks to Congress on the potential of an international nuclear deal with Iran that he believes could "threaten the survival of Israel."

Netanyahu said those who see a partisan motive in his address have misconstrued his purpose. He has frequently addressed the committee, but he has never before addressed Congress without the expressed blessing of the White House. Netanyahu was invited to speak by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who did not inform the White House of the invitation in advance.

"Israel has always been a bipartisan issue," he said to the estimated 16,000 people gathered. "Israel should always remain a bipartisan issue." Netanyahu said his purpose today is not to "inject Israel into the American partisan debate."

Displaying a map showing Iranian ties to terrorism on multiple continents, Netanyahu said Tehran posed an existential threat to Israel.

"This is what Iran is doing now without nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said. "Imagine what Iran would do with nuclear weapons."

Netanyahu said he wants to make his case before Congress, where there is bipartisan legislation that would impose additional sanctions on Iran. Obama has said he would veto the bill. Netanyahu's stance on Iran puts him at odds with the Obama administration, which has been working to hammer out a nuclear deal with Iran.

"The purpose of my speech to Congress tomorrow is to speak up about a potential deal with Iran that could threaten Israel's future," Netanyahu said.

Israel is strong but vulnerable, and it must not only defend itself militarily but also stand up for itself on the world stage, Netanyahu said.

Obama spoke dismissively of Netanyahu's warnings about the risks of an Iran deal, saying the prime minister had previously contended Iran would not abide by an interim agreement signed in 2013 and would get $50 billion in sanctions relief, a figure the U.S. says is far too high.

"None of that has come true," Obama said in an interview with Reuters.

Obama acknowledged that the two leaders had a "substantial disagreement" over Iran, and defended his efforts to negotiate a diplomatic resolution. Any deal he would agree to, he said, would require Iran to freeze its nuclear program at least a decade.

"This is not a personal issue," Obama said. "I think that it is important for every country in its relationship with the United States to recognize that the U.S. has a process of making policy."

Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to meet this morning with his Iranian counterpart in Montreux, Switzerland, to work out the framework of the deal before a March 24 deadline.

U.S. officials have reported progress toward a prospective agreement that would freeze Iran's nuclear program for at least 10 years but allow the Iranians to slowly ramp up in later years. Netanyahu has said that framework suggests the U.S. and its partners have "given up" on stopping Iran. In response, Kerry has said America's support of Israel suggests Washington deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Netanyahu spoke shortly after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, defended the Obama administration's approach to negotiations with Iran and pledged anew that the United States will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. She said U.S. support for Israel is bipartisan, and that U.S. promises to the partnership with Israel are "bedrock commitments."

Power reminded the audience that the United States under Obama has invested more than $20 billion in Israel's security and asserted that no one should doubt his commitment amid negotiations with Tehran.

"Talks, no talks, agreement, no agreement, the United States will take whatever steps are necessary to protect our national security and that of our closest allies," she said.

After Netanyahu spoke, national security adviser Susan Rice addressed the committee, saying the U.S. was seeking a deal that would cut off "every single pathway" Iran has to producing a nuclear weapon. She said Obama has kept all options on the table for blocking Tehran's pursuit of a bomb and declared that "a bad deal is worse than no deal."

Still, Rice warned against holding out for "unachievable" outcomes, such as getting Iran to fully end domestic enrichment.

"As desirable as that would be, it is neither realistic or achievable," she said. "If that is our goal, our partners will abandon us."

Speech draws critics

Tensions between the two sides have been coming to a boiling point since Netanyahu's speech was announced in January. They rapidly escalated last week, after Rice denounced Netanyahu's speech to Congress, calling it "destructive" to the relationship between the United States and Israel. Rice said it "injected a degree of partisanship" to the bond between the two countries.

Responding to critics of his decision to come to Washington to address Congress shortly before Israeli elections, Netanyahu said he had no choice because of the March deadline for U.S.-led talks with Iran.

"I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these dangers while there is still time to avert them," he said.

Netanyahu is facing a tougher-than-expected contest for re-election to an unprecedented fourth term March 17.

Kerry also took a swipe at Netanyahu last week, saying that Israel is safer because of an agreement that eased sanctions while negotiations were taking place -- a deal that Netanyahu opposed.

Kerry sought to tamp down tensions Sunday, saying on ABC's This Week that Israel and the United States are committed to working together on security.

"The prime minister is welcome in the United States at any time. We have an unparalleled, close security relationship with Israel, and we will continue to," Kerry said.

But he did say that news of Netanyahu's visit caught the administration off guard.

Netanyahu's trip to Washington has created fissures among the Israeli government and the White House, leading Jewish American groups and Jewish Democrats.

"Disagreements between allies are only natural" and nothing new, Netanyahu said Monday, and understandable given the different role and geography of the United States and Israel. He ticked off several past periods of tension, each of which passed without permanent damage to the U.S.-Israeli bond, and said that Israel and the United States are more like a family than friends.

"Disagreements in the family are always uncomfortable, but we must always remember that we are family," he said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein said that Netanyahu's point of view is not emblematic of the entire Jewish community, which he claimed he would be representing in his speech to Congress.

"He doesn't speak for me on this," the California Democrat said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union. "I think it's a rather arrogant statement. I think the Jewish community is like any other community. There are different points of view."

Obama has said that he will not meet with Netanyahu while he is in Washington, and Vice President Joe Biden will be traveling to Guatemala.

As Senate president, Biden would have sat behind Netanyahu during his speech to Congress. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the senior Republican senator, was expected to take Biden's place.

High-ranking Democrats have said they will boycott the speech. Netanyahu has declined a meeting with Democratic lawmakers, writing in a letter that it "could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit."

Netanyahu did plan to meet with a bipartisan group of senators after the congressional address, according to his published schedule.

Boehner plans to present Netanyahu a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a gift chosen because the two men will be the only foreign leaders to have addressed Congress three separate times.

Boehner also has invited former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

Netanyahu's office says the Israeli leader will give Boehner a menorah and a copy of the story of Purim, a Jewish holiday being celebrated this week that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire where a plot had been formed to destroy them.

Information for this article was contributed by Katie Zezima and Anne Gearan of The Washington Post; by Peter Baker, Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Michael Gordon of The New York Times; by Julie Pace, Aron Heller Matthew Lee, Bradley Klapper, Deb Riechmann and staff members of The Associated Press.

A Section on 03/03/2015

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