New York Times: Full-Court Press Against Bibi

The New York Times has launched a full-court press against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer over Netanyahu’s acceptance of an invitation by Speaker of the House John Boehner to address Congress on the subjects of Iran and radical Islam in March without coordinating with the White House. The Times reports that the White House has criticized Dermer, though would not reveal what was said, nor by whom, in the administration.

The article, by Julie Hirschfeld Davis, notes that the criticisms are “officially authorized,” and makes the bizarre logical leap–not supported by any facts presented–that Dermer has “politicize[d] relations between Washington and Jerusalem.” Other factors that “politicized” relations before Dermer’s arrival, such as Obama’s repeated slaps at Netanyahu, or the steady drift of Democrats away from supporting Israel at the urging of Obama’s pet J Street organization, are neglected.

One Times writer who does mention J Street is Jeremy Peters, who allows J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami to get away with complaining that Israel is harmed in Congress when a “sense of mutual values and interest starts to be driven apart by partisan politics.” Ben-Ami is the left-wing hack who described himself to the Times in 2009 as Obama’s “blocking back” on Capitol Hill, and who famously lied about the fact that J Street received funding from Democrat financier George Soros.

There is no doubt that the invitation to Netanyahu has thrown divisions between the White House and Congress–driven largely by Obama–into sharp focus. It has also forced Democrats to make uncomfortable choices between following their consciences on the issue and supporting their lame-duck president. Peters scores that as a political win for Obama. Lost in the Times coverage is any care for the substance of the issue itself: the urgency of the threat from Iran and radical Islam.

Senior Editor-at-Large Joel B. Pollak edits Breitbart California and is the author of the new ebook, Wacko Birds: The Fall (and Rise) of the Tea Party, available for Amazon Kindle.

Follow Joel on Twitter: @joelpollak