Bibi Goes to Washington

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's ill-considered decision to accept congressional Republicans' invitation to Washington might be the best thing that could happen to Israel. It is in neither country's interest to be seen as the other's pawn.

NEW YORK – Why did he do it? What possessed Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin “Bibi" Netanyahu to accept an invitation from the Republicans in the US Congress to come and attack President Barack Obama's policy on Iran without letting the White House know?

Netanyahu claims that his was “a fateful, even historic mission" to voice his concern for the fate of Israel and all Jews. But we already knew about his concerns – and that many Jews, in the US and elsewhere, do not feel that he was speaking for them.

Did Netanyahu crave the applause of his Republican supporters? Is he gambling on the chance of a Republican presidency in 2016? If so, he got the applause; but, given the current polls, the latter motive would be quite a gamble.

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