Benjamin Netanyahu

Members should sign in for the full experience.

Netanyahu Reopens Door to Palestinian State

March 19, 2015 at 1:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 90 Comments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “walked back his pre-election declaration that no Palestinian state would be established on his watch, and said he had not been trying to suppress the votes of Arab citizens when he posted a video on Election Day warning that they were heading to polling stations in large numbers,” the New York Times reports.

The Wall Street Journal says Netanyahu withdrew his pledge to block the creation of a Palestinian state, saying he only believed the conditions for one “today are not achievable.”

Thomas Friedman: “When the official government of Israel is a far-right party that rejects a two-state solution and employs anti-Arab dog whistles to get elected, it will split the basic unity of the American Jewish community on Israel. How many American Jews want to defend a one-state solution in Washington or on their college campuses?”

Obama Still Must Deal with Netanyahu

March 18, 2015 at 11:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 46 Comments

Benjamin Netanyahu’s “resounding victory in Israeli elections on Tuesday appears to have dashed any hopes President Obama might have had for a way out of his tumultuous and often bitter relationship with the prime minister,” the New York Times reports.

“White House officials offered no immediate reaction late Tuesday night to results that showed Mr. Netanyahu with a substantial lead after a divisive campaign that featured a national debate about whether the Israeli leader was undermining the country’s longstanding connection with the United States.”

Wall Street Journal: “White House officials hold out little hope that, in the remaining 20 months of President Barack Obama’s term, the U.S. and Israeli leaders will be able to narrow their differences over a nuclear agreement with Iran or make progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, based on early assessments Wednesday.”

Netanyahu Easily Wins Israeli Elections

March 18, 2015 at 1:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 83 Comments

“After a bruising campaign focused on his failings, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel won a clear victory in Tuesday’s elections and seemed all but certain to form a new government and serve a fourth term, though he offended many voters and alienated allies in the process,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Netanyahu and his allies had seized on earlier exit polls that showed a slimmer Likud lead to create an aura of inevitability, and celebrated with singing and dancing. While his opponents vowed a fight, Israeli political analysts agreed even before most of the ballots were counted that he had the advantage, with more seats having gone to the right-leaning parties likely to support him.”

Netanyahu Pledges No Palestinian State

March 16, 2015 at 2:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 77 Comments

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said that “as long as he is the leader, a Palestinian state would not be established, reversing his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Netanyahu made the assertion on the eve of an election in which he is trailing in the polls. He has been campaigning aggressively, appealing to conservatives for support.”

Netanyahu Tells Supporters He May Lose

March 16, 2015 at 7:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “warned supporters at a rally here Sunday that he and his Likud party may not win Tuesday’s election, a potentially dramatic fall for a consummate political survivor whose nine years in office transformed him into the public face of contemporary Israel,” the Washington Post reports.

“A loss by Netanyahu — or a razor-thin win and the prospect that he would be forced to enter into an unwieldy ‘government of national unity’ with his rivals — would mark a sobering reversal for Israel’s security hawks, in a country where the electorate has been moving steadily rightward for the past 15 years.”

Netanyahu Slips Behind in Polls Ahead of Election

March 12, 2015 at 7:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 26 Comments

“Less than a week before Israel’s general elections, the party of incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu has begun to fall behind an opponent who promises to restart talks with Palestinians and smooth the prime minister’s notoriously rocky relations with the White House,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Two polls on Wednesday put Isaac Herzog, leader of the dovish Labor Party, slightly ahead and suggest that support for Mr. Netanyahu and his Likud party among working-class Jews has eroded because of their widespread perception that he has focused on nuclear threats from Iran and extremist Muslims at the expense of economic problems.”

Netanyahu Speech Did Not Help Him At Home

March 8, 2015 at 2:03 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 64 Comments

A new Jerusalem Post poll finds Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the U.S. Congress did not help his Likud party cut the Zionist Union’s two-seat lead.

If the March 17 election were held now, the Zionist Union would beat the Likud, 24 Knesset seats to 22, the poll found. In last week’s survey, the Zionist Union received 25 seats and Likud 23.

Bonus Quote of the Day

March 3, 2015 at 2:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 108 Comments

“I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister’s speech — saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States… and saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation.”

— House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), quoted by The Hill, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress.

Netanyahu Says He Means No Disrespect to Obama

March 2, 2015 at 2:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “opened his high-profile visit to the American capital by playing down any personal dispute with President Obama, but he said that he had a ‘moral obligation’ to warn against the dangers of an American-brokered nuclear deal with Iran,” the New York Times reports.

Said Netanyahu: “My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the esteemed office that he holds. I have great respect for both.”

Former Obama Aide Works to Oust Netanyahu

February 28, 2015 at 8:32 am EST By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

New York Times: “Jeremy Bird, the architect of the grass-roots and online organizing efforts that powered President Obama’s presidential campaigns from Chicago, is advising a similar operation in Tel Aviv. But this time it is focused on ousting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.”

Top Obama Adviser Calls Netanyahu Visit Destructive

February 25, 2015 at 6:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

National Security Adviser Susan Rice “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,” the New York Times reports.

Rice said that 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.”

White House Works to Counter Netanyahu Visit

February 20, 2015 at 4:18 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 46 Comments

“In what is becoming an increasingly nasty grudge match, the White House is mulling ways to undercut Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming trip to Washington and blunt his message that a potential nuclear deal with Iran is bad for Israel and the world,” the AP reports.

“Administration officials have discarded the idea of President Obama himself giving an Iran-related address to rebut the two speeches Netanyahu is to deliver during his early March visit. But other options remain on the table. Among them: a presidential interview with a prominent journalist known for coverage of the rift between Obama and Netanyahu, multiple Sunday show television appearances by senior national security aides and a pointed snub of America’s leading pro-Israel lobby, which is holding its annual meeting while Netanyahu is in Washington.”

Big Majority Oppose Netanyahu Invite

February 17, 2015 at 1:26 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 37 Comments

A new CNN/ORC poll finds a large majority of Americans believe that Republican congressional leaders should not have invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress without consulting the White House, 63% to 33%.

Albright Accuses Netanyahu of Meddling

February 12, 2015 at 7:28 am EST By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of meddling with U.S. politics, The Hill reports.

Said Albright: “He is interfering in our internal affairs.”

She added: “I don’t want to interfere in Israeli internal affairs, but it strikes me that there is an awful lot going on in his neighborhood in the Middle East, and that’s where he should be.”

Oren Calls on Netanyahu to Cancel Speech to Congress

January 26, 2015 at 10:43 am EST By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel his upcoming address to Congress, scheduled for March 3, Haaretz reports.

“Oren, an American-born Israeli who served as envoy to Washington under Netanyahu from 2009 to 2013, reportedly said House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to the Israeli premier and the subsequent behavior involved ‘created the impression of a cynical political move, and it could hurt out attempts to act against Iran.'”

Said Oren: “It’s advisable to cancel the speech to Congress so as not to cause a rift with the American government. Much responsibility and reasoned political behavior are needed to guard interests in the White House.”

Obama and Kerry Won’t Meet with Netanyahu

January 22, 2015 at 2:55 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 57 Comments

President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry will not meet with Israeli’s Benjamin Netanyahu during the prime minister’s upcoming visit to Washington, Reuters reports.

The White House and State Department both cited “a need to avoid the appearance of trying to influence Israeli elections later in March.”

Boehner Snubs Obama While Inviting Netanyahu

January 21, 2015 at 5:38 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 58 Comments

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) “invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress on Feb. 11 — an invitation the White House called a breach of normal protocol,” Roll Call reports.

“Boehner said at a press conference that he did not consult the White House prior to sending out the invitation, as is customary when it comes to coordinating such joint sessions… Boehner told members of the Republican conference Wednesday that he wanted to send a clear message of support for Israel to the White House and to the world.”