Current disputes between Israel and the US are “disagreements among family,” and while uncomfortable they should not be blown out of proportion, Prime Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday at the annual AIPAC conference, in a warm up to his main address on Tuesday before Congress.
“You're here to tell the world that reports of the demise of the Israeli-US relations is not only premature, they're just wrong,” Netanyahu told the some 16,000 very supportive delegates in the hall. “You're here to tell the world that our alliance is stronger than ever.”
Netanyahu made clear at the outset that he was not going to discuss the content of the speech to Congress, beyond saying that “never has so much been written about a speech that hasn't been given.” Officials traveling with Netanyahu said that he will break new ground in his address to Congress.
Acutely aware of the debate that the speech to Congress has triggered in the US, Netanyahu stressed that his speech was “not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the esteemed office that he holds. I have great respect for both.”
Netanyahu spoke immediately after US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power delivered a warm speech in which she repeated Obama’s pledge never to allow Iran get a nuclear weapon, saying he “deeply” appreciated all that Obama has done for Israel. The prime minister cited security cooperation, intelligence sharing, support at the UN., and “much more, some things that I, as prime minister of Israel, cannot even divulge to you because it remains in the realm of the confidences that are kept between an American president and an Israeli prime minister.”
Saying that his speech to Congress was not intended to inject Israel into the American partisan debate, he said to loud applause that “the last thing that anyone who cares about Israel, the last thing that I would want is for Israel to become a partisan issue. And I regret that some people have misperceived my visit here this week as doing that.”
Netanyahu repeated what he has said on numerous occasions over the last few weeks, that the purpose of his speech is to speak about a potential deal with Iran that “could threaten the survival of Israel.” Iran, which he said has its terrorist tentacles on five continents, has vowed to annihilate Israel, and if it develops nuclear weapons, “it would have the means to achieve that goal. We must not let that happen.”
Netanyahu, citing the tragic history of the Jewish people who for 2,000 years were “stateless, defenseless, voiceless,” said that in the past “we were utterly powerless against our enemies who swore to destroy us. We suffered relentless persecution and horrific attacks. We could never speak on our own behalf, and we could not defend ourselves.”
Then, to the loudest applause during his speech punctuated numerous times by ovations, he said, “the days when the Jewish people are passive in the face of threats to annihilate us, those days are over.”
Today, Netanyahu said, “we are no longer silent; today we have a voice.” Then, referring to his upcoming speech to Congress, he said, “tomorrow, as prime minister of the one and only Jewish state, I plan to use that voice.”
Netanyahu said that while Israel and the United States agree that Iran should not have nuclear weapons, they disagree on the best way of preventing Iran from developing them..
Those differences, which he said are “only natural from time to time,” stem from differences in size, geography and military capability.
“The United States of America is a large country, one of the largest. Israel is a small country, one of the smallest,” he said. “America lives in one of the world's safest neighborhoods. Israel lives in the world's most dangerous neighborhood. America is the strongest power in the world. Israel is strong, but it's much more vulnerable. American leaders worry about the security of their country. Israeli leaders worry about the survival of their country.”
Citing other times in history when the US and Israel had strong disagreements, Netanyahu said “despite occasional disagreements, the friendship between America and Israel grew stronger and stronger, decade after decade.”
Netanyahu said that Israel and the United States will continue to stand together because they are more than friends. “We're like a family. We're practically mishpocha,” he said, using the Yiddish pronunciation of the word.
“Now, disagreements in the family are always uncomfortable, but we must always remember that we are family.”
At the outset of his speech, Netanyahu cited two members of his inner circle who have come under withering criticism in recent weeks, Israel’s ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, and his wife, Sara.
Amid some speculation that Dermer may eventually pay with his job for the tension over the speech, which he has been accused of “engineering” or “cooking up,” Netanyahu said to Dermer that “I couldn’t be prouder to have you representing Israel in Washington.”
Dermer, he said, is “a man who knows how to take the heat.”
And of his wife, Netanyahu said her “courage in the face of adversity is an inspiration to me,” adding that he is proud “to have you with me at my side always.” These words elicited applause and a standing ovation among some in the crowd.