CNN
—
A gaggle of senior Israeli figures together with former nationwide safety officers, lecturers and enterprise leaders have despatched US congressional management a blistering letter accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who’s set to talk to Congress on Wednesday, of threatening each Israeli and American nationwide safety.
The letter calls Netanyahu an “existential risk” and paints him as selfishly involved together with his political survival and singularly guilty for failing to defeat Hamas within the present struggle in Gaza. It additionally highlights Netanyahu’s ongoing authorized troubles, together with the actual fact he’s been being charged with bribery and fraud.
Among the many greater than 30 signatories are 5 former senior officers from the Mossad intelligence service, together with retired director Tamir Pardo, two former heads of the Israeli navy and a wide-ranging listing of different former navy, safety, diplomatic, authorized and enterprise officers.
Nobel laureate for Chemistry Aaron Ciechanover is amongst them, as are two former presidents of Ben Gurion College, Avishay Braverman and Rivka Carmi. Billionaire entrepreneur Morris Kahn joins former pharmaceutical CEO Jeremy Levin among the many enterprise leaders.
“For many years, [Netanyahu] has been inciting Israelis in opposition to one another, damaging our nationwide social material, dramatically harming our protection capabilities, eroding our economic system and devastating our worldwide standing,” the letter reads.
“Netanyahu severely harms the US nationwide safety pursuits via his method to this struggle, which adversely impacts American coverage within the Center East and past and additional endangers Israel,” it continues.
The letter was despatched on Tuesday morning to Home Speaker Mike Johnson, Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Chief Mitch McConnell.
Pardo, the previous Mossad director, final month referred to as on Congress to disinvite Netanyahu, calling the invitation a “horrible mistake.”
One other signatory, Alon Pinkas, who served as Israel’s Consul Normal in New York within the early 2000s, wrote that Netanyahu is visiting Washington and chatting with Congress so as “to damage Biden and switch Israel into a bigger partisan wedge concern forward of the US presidential election on November 5.”
The same letter – additionally signed by Pardo, Pinkas and others on Tuesday’s letter – was despatched in January to Israel’s president and speaker of parliament demanding that Netanyahu be faraway from workplace.
Netanyahu’s go to this week is a extremely politicized affair: the Israeli prime minister was invited to talk to Congress by the Republican Speaker of the Home, Mike Johnson, whereas a rising group of Democrats have threatened to boycott the speech.
”Benjamin Netanyahu is a struggle prison,” stated unbiased Sen. Bernie Sanders in a assertion. “He shouldn’t be invited to handle a joint assembly of Congress. I actually won’t attend.”
In March, Schumer, one among Israel’s most stalwart allies in Congress and the primary Jewish majority chief, referred to as on Netanyahu to resign and for brand new elections in Israel.
There have been early questions on whether or not Netanyahu would even get a White Home assembly in the course of the journey, as his relationship with President Joe Biden has gotten more and more strained in the course of the course of the struggle, now in its tenth month.
The leaders are actually anticipated to satisfy, with the timing in flux as a consequence of Biden’s Covid-19 analysis.
The specifics of Netanyahu’s speech stay intently held with many ready to see whether or not it should echo his 2015 handle to Congress during which he slammed the Iran deal brokered by the Obama administration.
The Obama White Home had been blindsided by Netanyahu’s resolution to handle Congress after one other invitation from a Republican Home speaker, John Boehner. Dozens of Democrats skipped that speech, as did then-Vice President Biden who was touring.
Sometimes, a vice chairman, of their function as president of the Senate, would attend and sit prominently on the dais.
Nonetheless, Vice President Kamala Harris may also miss Netanyahu’s Wednesday speech as a consequence of journey, which Biden’s nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan stated Friday he didn’t count on to be a repeat of 2015.
“They [Netanyahu’s team] stated he’s intending to bolster a set of themes and arguments that aren’t at odds or in contradiction to our coverage, American coverage, however they’re gonna preserve working that speech until the final minute, identical to we do on our aspect,” Sullivan stated on the Aspen Safety Discussion board.
He added that the White Home expects Netanyahu to preview “in fairly particular phrases” to Biden “what he intends to say.”
The go to comes additionally at a important time within the negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. Senior US officers say Netanyahu has signed on to the framework Biden proposed in Might however critics of the prime minister’s have accused him of including specifics that would thwart the deal.
“Netanyahu obstructed a struggle technique for his or her [the hostages’] launch, prevented an important dialogue of Nationwide Strategic Targets for the struggle, and deserted the abductees in Gaza,” the letter to Congress reads.
Netanyahu is well-known to People, having first change into prime minister in 1996. Simply 35% of People view him favorably, in keeping with a ballot this month by Gallup, together with his unfavorability climbing sharply within the final 5 years. Extra People disapprove of Israel’s navy motion in Gaza than approve, in keeping with the identical ballot.
As Israel turns into extra of a partisan concern in US politics, the signatories of Tuesday letter warn of what Netanyahu’s go to might do to the connection.
“We thanks to your continued assist and urge you to stay stalwart allies of Israel,” they conclude, “and encourage Prime Minister Netanyahu to place the security, safety and way forward for Israel and the Israeli-US strategic relations earlier than his personal political and private pursuits.”
