It has been confirmed that Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu has rejected an invitation to meet with Senate Democrats, while he is in town meeting with Congress.
The Senate Democrats extended a private invitation to the Prime Minister, which Netanyahu turned down on Tuesday because he stated it “could compound the misperception of partisanship.”
Although the Prime Minster shows concern about why he is coming to Washington, Netanyahu’s original invitation to speak with Congress was private and issued by the Senate GOP members. An invitation that seriously angered the Senate Democrats and the Obama Administration, the only difference is Netanya will be speaking in front of both parties during his meeting.
Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, who wanted to meet with the leader “behind closed doors”, originally issued the private invitation, but Netanyahu responded by saying, “I regret that the invitation to address the special joint session of Congress has been perceived by some to be political or partisan. I can assure you that my sole intention in accepting it was to voice Israel’s grave concerns about a potential nuclear agreement with Iran that could threaten the survival of my country.”
While Obama and about half a dozen Senators have no intention of meeting with the Prime Minister, Senator Durbin states that the rejection of the invitation is disheartening to the Democratic party by stating, “We offered the Prime Minister an opportunity to balance the politically divisive invitation from Speaker Boehner with a private meeting with Democrats who are committed to keeping the bipartisan support of Israel strong. His refusal to meet is disappointing to those of us who have stood by Israel for decades.”
Photo By: AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File
