Double the Opportunism

Disregarding denunciations of opportunism as well as the implicit affront toward the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought to a close the objective set forth by both the strategists of his own party, Likud, and the Republican opposition in the U.S. Netanyahu addressed Congress in a formal session from which numerous Democratic congressmen and women were absent, including Joe Biden, who presides over the Senate.

Although its main topics were international in scope — negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program — Netanyahu’s speech showed deep concern with the political rapport between Israel and the U.S. Netanyahu addressed representatives of Congress and the Senate just two weeks before the Israeli people are set to cast their ballots in an election in which, polls indicate, the right-wing Likud (Netanyahu’s party) and the center-left Zionist Union coalition are neck and neck. In this way, the speech delivered in Washington became a huge electoral event on the part of the prime minister — an event that was, incidentally, attended by American billionaire Sheldon Adelson, his biggest campaign contributor and owner of Israel’s most popular newspaper.

This political opportunism was twofold. Netanyahu needlessly snubbed the U.S. president — the same president who, as Netanyahu put it, continuously helps Israel. This intervention on Netanyahu’s part was machinated against Barack Obama by the Republican majority in Congress, who accuse the president of weakness in regard to foreign policy. Many Republicans applauded the Israeli guest with more enthusiasm than they applauded the president during his State of the Union address. Netanyahu is playing a role that allows the Israeli voter to regard him as a privileged interlocutor with the most powerful country on earth and Israel’s ally. We will have to observe the White House’s next decisions to gauge what kind of damage his actions have caused.

Having said this, the prime minister is right in attributing great importance to the agreement currently in negotiation with Iran. This is an agreement that should admit no error, as it will determine the stability of the Middle East and global nuclear equilibrium. Reason enough to not let it get tainted with political matters between the U.S. and Israel.