Netanyahu’s Speech in Congress Has to Be Convincing and with Guts

Netanyahu’s address in Congress will have a decisive influence on the status of Israel in the coming years. He must not blow it.

Benjamin Netanyahu has a good reason to be pleased. Fifteen years after he spoke before the two houses of Congress, he’ll be back — and will become the first prime minister to address this distinguished and prestigious forum twice. This time, too, Netanyahu is going to be welcomed with thunderous applause. Members of Congress are good at showing respect to their guests. They will rise to their feet and clap, and not just once.

But the nice and favoring looks must not deceive; in Washington, everybody knows that the Obama administration treats the Israeli premier with suspicion. Netanyahu’s advocates, the President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Barak, also do not relieve the disappointment prevailing in the administration in light of the dashed hope that in his second tenure as prime minister, Netanyahu would lead a daring move and not wait for events to happen.

Fifteen years ago, Netanyahu knew how to impress. He told the congressmen the right things in the right accent. However, on this occasion, the timing of his appearance imparts to the upcoming speech a special importance. It will be four months before the U.N. General Assembly will be requested to recognize the establishment of an independent Palestinian state without coordinating with Israel — to its resentment; it would not be presumptuous to assert that this may be the most important speech of Netanyahu’s current term.

In its announcement about the speech, the prime minister’s office noted that Netanyahu is going to say that the only way to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians is to achieve a real peace that would guarantee Israel’s security and its future — and not just “peace on paper,” as he put it. Of course Netanyahu is right, but the members of Congress, and especially the two who won’t be there — Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton — will not be content with a speech of slogans.

Therefore, Netanyahu makes quite a bet in his decision to give a speech. This address might determine whether the United States will stand against the world maneuver to bolster the Palestinians in September. In Ehud Barak’s words, it can be stated that Netanyahu’s speech will decide whether the Obama administration would stop the developing and approaching political tsunami.

The Last Bastion

The speech is likely to determine what the status of Israel is going to be in the years to come, with the United States being the only firm mainstay left. It is also likely to determine the status of Netanyahu. No other Israeli politician is more acquainted with the centers of power in Washington and the balance of power between them.

As someone whose satisfaction about the Republican victory in the last congressional elections has become a byword, Netanyahu should make a decision to whom he will turn. Would it be to Republicans, so that on the threshold of an election year in the United States they impose a clear-cut pro-Israeli move on Democratic President Obama against his will? Or should he talk directly to the president and secretary of state, who are going to be more attentive to his words than anybody else?

Choosing the American Congress as the forum for a political speech ahead of September is a sensitive and complex choice, borderline with gambling. We should believe that the prime minister is taking a calculated gamble. At an hour when support for Israel in the world is crashing, while the Palestinians are chalking up success after success, and on days when even good friends, such as Angela Merkel, are voicing critical opinions toward the premier and raising their hand against Israel in the Security Council, the American Congress has remained the island of sanity and stability in its backing of Israel.

The American Congress is the last bastion in the line of fortifications against an unfolding political tsunami. Only last week, it authorized the allocation of $205 million to continue equipping IDF [Israel Defense Forces] with the Iron Dome [counter-rocket defense system]. Should Netanyahu not raise the burden of persuasion in his appearance before the members of Congress concerning the seriousness of his intentions to resolve the conflict, should his speech solely be a production of declarations that Americans have already heard before, should it be evident that Netanyahu is going to wait for events and not initiate a thing — he may disappoint his audience.

Should the members of Congress feel like the prime minister is making irrational use of them — even the last bastion could be lost. Netanyahu has taken upon himself a difficult and complicated mission. His speech has to be with guts, clear and convincing. Not only because of the hope for peace that has long been extinguished, but also because of what might happen in September if there is no peace.

The author is a political analyst and commentator, and the host of “It’s All Talk” radio show on the Kol Israel [Voice of Israel] radio station.