Israel Interferes in American Politics, National Security Adviser Says
Biden, other Democrats signal growing opposition to Netanyahu's leadership
In what quickly is becoming a war of words between Washington DC and Jerusalem, the White House national security adviser fired back at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing his government of meddling in US politics more often than the US government gets in the middle of Israeli affairs.
The back-and-forth comes as the Biden administration and other high-ranking US elected officials have become disillusioned with Netanyahu’s conduct related to his country’s military campaign in Gaza.
Netanyahu was on CNN over the weekend, taking a defiant stance and complaining about a speech by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in which Schumer called for new elections in Israel over Netanyahu’s disregard for huge numbers of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and a public disinterest in following through with the creation of a viable Palestinian state.
Nearly 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its military operations in retaliation for the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
The standoff with Netanyahu is a departure for President Biden and much of official Washington, as they began as stalwart supporters immediately after the Hamas attacks.
But just how much the relationship with Netanyahu has deteriorated could be seen in White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s answer to a reporter asking him about Netanyahu’s CNN appearance.
“Well, first of all, inherent in the question is kind of an interesting irony, which is you have the prime minister speaking on American television about his concerns about Americans interfering in Israeli politics, and then your question is should Americans be speaking into Israeli politics, which, in fact, we don’t do nearly as much as they speak into ours,” Sullivan said Monday during a White House briefing. “But that’s not a constructive answer to your question. Just an observation.”
A far-right politician, Netanyahu refused to meet with congressional Democrats at least as far back as during an official visit to Washington in 2015.
“In answer to your question, again, as I said before — from the president’s perspective —this isn’t really about politics or public opinion or public statements. This is about policy and strategy,” Sullivan said. “And so, the president is not focused on what’s popular, what’s not popular, how do you shape public opinion? He’s interested in how do we get to the right result, and the right result is the enduring defeat of Hamas, a two-state solution that has a secure Israel and a Palestinian state that vindicates the aspirations of the Palestinian people, and a broader normalization of relations so that Israel also has peace with all of its Arab neighbors.
“He believes we need to drive to that outcome. And while it is true that many voices in Israel can’t see that today, that is not going to alter the president’s view, from his perspective, that that is what is not just in the U.S. national security interest, but it’s really the only solution to Israel’s future as a democratic Jewish state that is secure and at peace with its neighbors, including its most immediate neighbors, the Palestinian people,” he added.
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