Another US lawmaker will boycott Netanyahu's speech to Congress
A US Democratic congressman from Tennessee says he will boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress next month.
Rep. Steve Cohen called the address a “very dangerous game” and "political gamesmanship" by House Speaker John Boehner to undermine President Barack Obama.
Cohen, who is Jewish, said Tuesday the planned speech about Iran’s nuclear program is "high theater" in Netanyahu's re-election campaign.
“The actions of the speaker and the prime minister have caused a breach between Democrats in Congress and Israel as well as the administrations of the United States and Israel,” Cohen wrote in a press release.
“This speech is high theater for a re-election campaign in Israel and a political tool wielded against our president and his administration by the speaker of the House,” he added. “It endangers the negotiations [and] insults the good faith of the other nations involved in the negotiations.”
Netanyahu is set to address the US Congress on March 3 to persuade American lawmakers to put additional sanctions against Iran while nuclear negotiations are under way.
Cohen argued that providing such a forum to Netanyahu, “who is opposing our nation’s foreign policy is beyond the pale.”
US Vice President Joe Biden and several other Democratic lawmakers, including Earl Blumenauer and Barbara Lee, have already announced their decision to boycott the speech.
The White House has also denounced the invitation of Netanyahu to Congress as a “breach of protocol” that could derail the nuclear talks with Iran.
Iran and the P5+1 group – Britain, France, China, Russia, and the United States plus Germany – have been holding talks to reach a comprehensive agreement over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.
The United States and its allies have imposed several rounds of illegal sanctions on Iran based on the unfounded accusation that Tehran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear program.
AHT/AGB
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