AIPAC filled US House during Netanyahu’s anti-Iran show: Journalist

An American investigative journalist says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “thunderous reception” at the US Congress was staged for television and that the visitors’ gallery was occupied by members of AIPAC, the main Israeli lobbying group in Washington.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu, on a Republican invitation, addressed a joint session of Congress, where, according to some US mainstream media reports, he received a rapturous reception from members of Congress.

Wayne Madsen said that “it is just unfortunate that so many members of Congress decided to go, applaud and cheer Netanyahu, although [there were] vacant seats, [and] some sixty Democrats did not show up in addition to Republican Congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina.”

“But many of those applause and cheers and shouts were coming from people who were specking” the visitors’ gallery in the lower chamber, he told Press TV in an interview on Thursday.

Madsen added that and many of the people who were sitting in the House seats were not members of Congress but “congressional staffers.”

“And those who were in the visitors’ gallery were paraded over from the AIPAC conference, which was going on at the same time” in Washington, DC, the veteran journalist said. “So that gave the impression that Netanyahu had this thunderous reception.”

“This was staged for television and the applause was just like when Netanyahu spears at the UN General Assembly, there’s a lot of Jewish activists in New York, they go into the visitors’ gallery at the UN General Assembly and make it sound like that Netanyahu is getting a lot of applause when in fact many delegations walk out during his address,” Madsen pointed out.

“So this was all made for television, and it was basically a perception management” event, he concluded.

House Speaker John Boehner had invited Netanyahu to speak to Congress. The invitation was extended hours after President Barack Obama threatened to veto any sanctions legislation against Iran during his State of the Union address in January.

Speaking at Congress, Netanyahu accused Washington of negotiating “a very bad deal” with Iran over its nuclear energy program that he said could leave the Middle East “littered with nuclear bombs.”

Hours after the controversial speech, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States and other countries involved in nuclear negotiations with Iran will not "be distracted by external factors or politics."

“Mr. Kerry was obviously referring to Netanyahu’s shameful appearance before the joint session of Congress,” Madsen pointed out.

The Israeli premier “attempted to ruin” the nuclear talks between the P5+1 group – the US, Britain, France, Russian and China- and Iran, he added.

The Obama administration is both angry at Netanyahu’s accepting of the Republican invitation to address Congress two weeks before the Israeli election and excessive Israel Lobby interference in US foreign policy.

GJH/HRJ

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