The Hottest Ticket In Town: Netanyahu

Commando vs. Community Organizer

Saudi Columnist: Netanyahu Is Right on Iran Deal
    
In a March 2, 2015, article in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, columnist Dr. Ahmad Al-Faraj supported Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision to speak at the U.S. Congress against the upcoming deal with Iran.     
Al-Faraj said that Obama is working to sign a deal with Iran at the expense of America's longtime allies in the Gulf, and therefore Netanyahu's campaign against the deal is justified and serves the interests of the Gulf states.        
(MEMRI)
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"I Need a Netanyahu Ticket" - Ashley Parker 
    
The White House's "desire to undercut" Mr. Netanyahu's visit simply made it more appealing, said Jeff Forbes, a founding partner at Forbes-Tate, a public policy consulting firm.     
"They have made it the most talked about thing in Washington, and I think it blew up in their face."
     
"Everything he says, people want to hear, and people want to be in that room to listen, they want to be in person. It's become a historic speech."        
(New York Times)


Netanyahu Following Rabin - Gerald M. Steinberg 

In 1992, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin considered the Iranian nuclear threat the top priority on his strategic agenda. For over two decades, Rabin's policies on Iran were adopted, extended and adjusted by every successive Israeli leader.
     
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau addresses the U.S. Congress, he will be reflecting this continuity. There is broad unity in Israel over the substance of Netanyhau's message regarding the need to confront the reality of the Iranian threat. 
(Jerusalem Post)


Listening to Netanyahu - Editorial 

The Obama administration should just shut up about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled Tuesday speech to Congress.
     
Israel's very existence, not America's, would be threatened by an Iranian nuclear bomb. Only amateurs let personal grievances and lapses in protocol distract them from pursuit of the national interest.
    
Clearly Netanyahu has not forgotten threats from Iranian leaders pledging to wipe Israel off the map.
    
Administration officials resent a foreign leader's lobbying against their policy, but did not shrink from deploying Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, to lobby for it during Cameron's January visit. Such inconsistency makes it harder to take the administration seriously.
(Boston Herald)


Congress, Show Respect for Our Closest Ally - Editorial  

Yes, it veers from protocol. Nevertheless, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's March 3 address about the threat of a nuclear Iran before a joint session of Congress a go, it's time to put partisan snits aside.
     
Some D.C. insiders continue to dwell on the effrontery of it all. But we're not talking here about North Korea, Yemen or some other medieval dictatorship. We're talking about America's closest ally in the Middle East, the region's only democracy.
     
This country's elected officials should get their priorities straight, drop the partisanship and show at least basic respect for one of our closest allies.
(San Francisco Jewish Weekly)


Netanyahu's Speech to Congress and Purim - Herb Keinon  

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress, he will likely make reference to Purim, the holiday that will begin Wednesday night commemorating the Jews' salvation from the hands of the Persians thousands of years ago.
     
Then the Persians wanted to destroy the Jews; today the Persians want to destroy the state of the Jews.  
(Jerusalem Post)


Israel Willing to Cooperate with Gulf States Against Iran
- Adiv Sterman

In an interview with the U.S. television channel al-Hura, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said that Israel is prepared to cooperate with any Arab Gulf state that feels threatened by the Iranian regime's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Israel will only take military action against Iran if all other options to stall the Islamic Republic's nuclear program fail, Ya'alon added. 
(Times of Israel)


Why We Need to Hear Netanyahu - Mike Rogers and Michael Doran

If the president follows through with such a plan without first subjecting its terms to a rigorous debate in Congress, he will be concluding an agreement that is entirely personal in nature. The legitimacy of such a deal would be hotly contested, rendering it inherently unstable. By helping to force a more thorough examination of the matter, Netanyahu is performing a service to us all. 
Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) was chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (2011-15) and is a distinguished fellow at the Hudson Institute, where Michael Doran is a senior fellow. 
(Politico)