WPRO News and the Associated Press
Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will be among the nearly three dozen Democrats who will be boycotting a joint-congressional speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Whitehouse says he won’t attend because he feels there has been too much “trickery” and “mischief” surrounding the Prime Minister’s invitation to speak.
“There are protocols of engagement between sovereign countries that have developed over the years and this was certainly a violation of [them],” said Whitehouse.
The “violation” Whitehouse refers to is the invitation House Speaker John Boehner gave to Netanyahu to address congress; a move which some Democrats feel is overstepping the State Department’s authority.
Critics of the speech say Netanyahu is appearing at a time when international negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program are at a critical juncture. Netanyahu told a Jewish lobby group on Monday that his speech is not intended to inject Israel into American political debate.
Whitehouse says the United States’ bound with Israel is strong enough to withstand diplomatic gaffes, but feel this is an unnecessary speed bump.
“I’ll be glad when he has spoken and gone and it’s behind us.”
