The visit of Prime Minister Netanyahu proved highly controversial, even though he has addressed the Congress before, to bipartisan acclaim. He was invited to speak by the elected leader of the House Of Representatives. It is up to Netanyahu to determine what’s best for Israel.
If the head of Israel believes his country is in mortal danger, he’s obligated to speak on this vital matter, as he put it, “not because I seek a confrontation with the president, but because I must fulfill my obligation to speak up on a matter that affects the very survival of my country.”
Our president’s policy is dangerous to both America and the world and what’s worse he’s planning to bypass Congressional approval of any agreement with Iran. Even the liberal Washington Post is deeply concerned about this, observing, “The Obama administration is signaling that it will seek to implement any deal it strikes with Iran—including the suspension of sanctions that were originally imposed by Congress, without a vote by either chamber.”
As former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, has said, “a multilateral effort headed by the European Union and backed by six U.N. Security Council resolutions…began with the premise ‘to deny Iran the capability to develop a military option…to a new policy where these negotiations have now become an essentially bilateral negotiation between the United States and Iran over the scope of that (nuclear) capability, not its existence.”’
Where are our New York Senators? Both of them appear to be hiding, afraid of offending our president and afraid to exert independent leadership. Both senators did come out with statements regarding Iran, Israel and the Menendez Bill, but we’ve heard nothing from them since then. Will Senators Schumer and Gellibrand agree to override a presidential veto of the Menendez Bill to re-impose sanctions? Are they going to permit our president to sign an agreement with Iran without Congressional approval?
We need to know now.
Martin H. Sokol, president, ZOA Long Island Chapter
