Bibi's Dangerous Game

Over the course of our short, 239-year history, America has had many allies in the world.

Our oldest ally is France. They fought alongside us in the Revolutionary War. They also share many of the same values we do, such as freedom of speech and freedom of expression, a common bond we were reminded of during the tragic Charlie Hebdo attack.

Another great American ally is the United Kingdom. Sure, they used to be our overlords but that is water under the bridge. They gave us Winston Churchill and we gave them FDR. Together we won WWII. They also gave us the Beatles and the Stones, which we are eternally grateful for.

Recently, the media has focused like a laser on America's complicated alliance with Saudia Arabia. While many Americans find their treatment of women, whipping of bloggers and beheading of criminals abhorrent, Saudia Arabia remains the #1 Arab-ally of America, both economically and militarily. President Obama hammered this point home by visiting Saudi Arabia to honor the death of King Abdullah.

But although France, England and Saudi Arabia all share a close partnership with America, when it comes to strategic importance, no ally comes close to Israel.

Israel is the only Western democracy in the Middle East. Without Israel, America would have no sphere of influence in the Arab world. In turn, without America's financial, political and military support, Israel would be dangerously isolated, surrounded in all directions by volatile nations that want to see Israel wiped off the map. The partnership is symbiotic, which is why it's so important.

But the US-Israel alliance isn't just some cold-blooded geo-political agreement made out of necessity, America and Israel genuinely like each other. America supports the Jewish people. We are home to the biggest population of Jews outside of Israel. We helped them secure their independence. We helped liberate them from the concentration camps.

More broadly, we share a similar philosophy and outlook on life. We are both progressive thinkers. We are both a nation of immigrants. Both of our countries gained their independence through war. We both believe in science, capitalism, free speech and gender equality.

America will always stand by Israel. However, after Netanyahu's latest attempt at undermining Obama in front of Congress, it seems that Israel is pushing the limits.


GOING TOO FAR

In order to make sense of the latest feud between Obama and Netanyahu, it's important to take a step back and see how we got to this place.

Obama is seeking a historic nuclear agreement with Iran. The talks are ongoing and have been for some time. Netanyahu's fear is that Obama agrees to a bad deal that allows Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb, a legitimate concern seeing as though Iran is vehemently anti-semitic and has on more than one occasion boasted about wanting to wipe Israel off the map.

Netanyahu, who is up for re-election in March, has made a calculated decision to do whatever it takes to derail the US-Iran nuke talks.

Which brings us to the controversy at hand: Netanyahu accepting an invitation from House Speaker John Boehner to address the US Congress about the need to ratchet up the Iran sanctions, which would effectively sabotage the deal.

Netanyahu's decision to speak to the US Congress is irresponsible and antagonistic on several fronts.

First, and most egregious, is that he will be speaking to Congress just weeks before the Israeli Elections. As a result, it's clear that Netanyahu is playing politics with his country's most important ally for personal gain. He is trying to elevate his status and increase his chances at winning re-election by appearing as a grand statesman on the world stage. He is trying to win votes by interfering in and engaging in partisan American politics.

Second is the disrespectful manner in which the speech was secured. Netanyahu broke protocol by not informing Obama of the invitation from Boehner. Even worse, days earlier the Israeli Ambassador, Ron Dermer, met with John Kerry for over two hours and never even mentioned the upcoming speech to congress.

Is that any way to treat your number one ally?


REASON AND LOGIC WIN OUT

Fortunately, the backlash against Netanyahu's move to undermine Obama and inflame US-Israeli tensions is fierce.

He has been hammered on all sides.

Michael Oren, the former Israeli Ambassador to the US, has called on Netanyahu to cancel his speech to Congress, which "created the impression of a cynical political move."

Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli military intelligence chief, went a step further, saying Netanyahu was being "irresponsible."

"When we manage our relationship with the US, we have to manage it simultaneously with the president and Congress. [Netanyahu] has made it into a partisan issue in the US, and we cannot let Israel become a problem for one party or another."

Even Fox News (!!!) denounced Netanyahu's move and came to Obama's defense. When do they agree with Obama on anything??

In the end, the backlash against Netanyahu shouldn't be seen as an attack on Israel. It shouldn't be held up as evidence of anti-semitism.

Instead, it should be seen as a justified response to reckless, cynical behavior; a condemnation of risky political gamesmanship that dishonors the historic partnership between the US and Israel.

After all, the US and Israel are sacred allies. We must do everything we can to strengthen our partnership, not strain it.

We can't afford to let petty partisanship undermine our alliance, especially at a time when the Mideast is in flames.

Now, more than ever, the US and Israel need to be united, not divided.