WASHINGTON — Susan E. Rice, President Obama’s national security adviser, sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel
on Tuesday over his plans to address a joint meeting of Congress next
week, saying his actions had hurt his nation’s relationship with the
United States.
Mr.
Netanyahu’s decision to travel to Washington to deliver the speech two
weeks before the Israeli elections has “injected a degree of
partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it’s destructive of
the fabric of the relationship,” Ms. Rice said in an interview on the
PBS television program “Charlie Rose.”
Her comments marked the strongest public rebuke to date by the Obama administration since Mr. Netanyahu accepted an invitation from Speaker John A. Boehner to make his case to Congress against a nuclear deal with Iran,
which is a priority of Mr. Obama’s. It is also the frankest
acknowledgment yet by a top American official of the degree to which the
controversy has damaged United States-Israeli relations.
Rice Opposes Netanyahu’s Planned Speech
Susan E. Rice, President Obama’s national
security adviser, said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned
speech to Congress posed a problem for the Israeli-American
relationship.
Video by Charlie Rose on
Publish Date February 25, 2015.
Photo by Charlie Rose.
The speech, scheduled for March 3, was arranged by Mr. Boehner and the Israeli ambassador without consulting the White House — a move that Mr. Obama’s team has called a breach of protocol.
The president has said he will not meet with Mr. Netanyahu during his visit to avoid any appearance that he is trying to influence the Israeli elections that are scheduled for mid-March.
The
episode is a low point in the tense relationship between Mr. Obama and
Mr. Netanyahu and has touched off weeks of mostly anonymous sniping and
finger-pointing.
Top administration officials have hinted more openly of their displeasure in recent days.
The
White House on Wednesday said that Mr. Obama agreed with Ms. Rice’s
assessment, saying he had raised the same concerns several times.
Her
comments, said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, are
“entirely consistent with what the president has already said.”
“Allowing this relationship to be subjected to party politics does weaken the relationship,” Mr. Earnest said.
Mr.
Earnest said he did not know whether Mr. Obama and Ms. Rice had talked
in advance of the interview about what she would say about Mr.
Netanyahu’s visit.
Document: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Letter to Democratic Senators
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who as president of the Senate would be expected to attend, has said he will be traveling abroad.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that he would be in
Switzerland negotiating with the Iranians. The White House has also not
committed to sending a representative next week to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s conference, where Mr. Netanyahu is also scheduled to appear.
The
Israeli prime minister himself has turned down a request by Democratic
senators for a private meeting, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of
Illinois, said Tuesday.
“We
offered the prime minister an opportunity to balance the politically
divisive invitation from Speaker Boehner with a private meeting with
Democrats who are committed to keeping the bipartisan support of Israel
strong,” Mr. Durbin said in a statement. “His refusal to meet is
disappointing to those of us who have stood by Israel for decades.”
In a letter released by Mr. Durbin’s office, Mr. Netanyahu said such a meeting “could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit.”
Mr.
Netanyahu said Tuesday that he was making the trip because it was his
obligation to “do everything I can to prevent” a nuclear agreement with Iran.
“Therefore,
I will go to Washington to address the American Congress, because the
American Congress is likely to be the final brake before the agreement
between the major powers and Iran,” he said as he toured a military base in southern Israel.
Ms. Rice demurred when asked whether she believed Mr. Netanyahu was making the speech to gain political favor.
“I’m
not going to ascribe motives to the prime minister,” she told Mr. Rose.
“The point is, we want the relationship between the United States and
Israel to be unquestionably strong, immutable, regardless of political
seasons in either country, regardless of which party may be in charge in
either country.
“We’ve worked very hard to have that,” she said, “and we will work very hard to maintain that.”
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