Who Will Lose Most By Netanyahu’s Hue and Cry

Lastly, Netanyahu delivered his controversial speech in the joint session of the US Congress, albeit being void of any logic and substance; a speech that was short of any new vision and was the repetition of the same old wicked claims. For weeks, the contentious contents of this speech were the motto of discussions and gossips of the circles inside the United States and abroad. Virtually, everybody in the America was waiting for the Prime Minister to share new points of view on the Iranian nuclear issue with them. Well before March 3, many analysts as well as this author had addressed this issue, reminding that the Prime Minister has nothing new to say but the repetition of what he has been saying for years. Actually, everybody observed that Netanyahu did not raise any new points. Denouncing the visit from the very beginning and reading it just as campaign propaganda for the upcoming election in Israel, and hence not wanting to host Netanyahu in the White House, President Obama was among the first people who reacted to this speech, bluntly saying that it was short of anything new. What the Prime Minister said, the President added, was the repetition of what he had stated after the Joint Plan of Action signed in November 2013 in Geneva.

In spite of reciting his old stories voided of anything new, the Israeli Prime Minister's remarks will have their repercussions that are worthy of being considered. Those impacts can be analyzed in two parts.

Firstly the consequences that this can have inside the United States .Before Netanyahu delivered his speech in Congress, this author in a short paper had pointed out that this visit and the speech, being kept from the US President and without his concurrence, was pretty irrelevant and untimely when neither the president nor any of his top aides did meet the Israeli. This event was described as "destructive" not only by political circles in the States but by some of the EU’s top officials. As it had been pointed out by analysts and mass media, this visit and speech was just a humiliation of the American people. Reportedly, the leader of the Democratic minority in Congress, Mrs. Nancy Pelosi, was quoted as saying that through the session, for several times, she felt deeply humiliated and  was about to cry. However in spite of all these controversies, it is quite astounding as to how the US Congress members (of course mostly Republicans), all through this speech did give several standing ovations and applauded the Prime Minister for the repetition of his old and meaningless claims. It seems they might not have done this if their own president was giving his State of the Union address before the Congress! Even when Netanyahu entered the aisle as well as leaving after the speech, there were some people who enthusiastically rushed to Netanyahu to greet him as if they just wanted to show respect and commitment to their mentor. What are these hardliners in Congress up to?  What do they gain by this? Isn't it only that these representatives are so unaware of what happens in the United States or in the world? Or are they so naïve that they can be easily deceived by a populist such as Netanyahu? Certainly this is for the American people to decide and judge. However we do not need to lose sight of the fact that if the American people disapprove of what Netanyahu is saying, then are these hardliners in Congress their real representatives? This is a question that must be deeply dealt with and one which the future generation will answer.

As for the relation of Netanyahu’s speech with the on-going nuclear talks in Geneva, we can just say that notwithstanding these controversies and comic shows, these talks are somberly going on with Iran and United States negotiating teams being pretty self-restrained. It is worthy reminding that over the past couple of weeks some points, in particular on the Iranian nuclear issue, have been discussed by American circles and the mass media which has not been so bluntly talked about in the past. They, in particular, underscored that Israelis over the past decades and much more during the past nine years of the Netanyahu tenure, have time and again made claims that have proven to be baseless and fake. Now, even circles close to Israel and those supporting the regime in Tel Aviv do not hesitate to voice their doubts about these claims.

On balance, the latest Israeli election is only two weeks away. As political observers suggest, this is a tough challenge for Netanyahu and his Likud Party. If he does not win this election, then it reaffirms that his claims, as usual, have been fake and baseless and nobody has believed him and it is an indication that he has deceived the Americans, particularly the US Congress. If he purportedly wins (the chances of which seem to be minimal), this victory will be at American cost and on the expenses of the divided legislative and executive branches of this country. So it is the American people who are the big losers.