Now comes the backlash to the Bibi backlash.

Republican and conservative Jewish organizations are threatening shaming campaigns against Democrats who skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to a joint meeting of Congress next month. Even talking about not showing, they say, is forsaking America’s relationship with Israel.


Joe Biden apparently isn't worried. A spokesperson for the vice president on Friday said Biden would not preside over the joint meeting because he'll be travelling abroad.

The furor around the speech, which Democrats say is forcing them to choose between loyalty to Israel and loyalty to their party, reflects a slow transformation. Though the overwhelming majority of American Jewish voters remain Democrats, Jewish Republicans have grown in numbers and influence. That’s a trend conservative Israeli politicians, led by Netanyahu, are seeking to use to their advantage—and a small number of well-funded right-leaning American Jews are eager to exploit.

The dispute centers around an agreement between House Speaker John Boehner and Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer for Netanyahu to use the speech to address what he sees as the dangers of a U.S. rapprochment with Iran. The Obama administration, which is deep in negotiations with the Islamic state over curbing its nuclear program, sees the speech as an attempt to make it harder for U.S. lawmakers to support the diplomatic effort by portraying it as a direct threat to Israel. Netanyahu says doesn’t trust Iran to abide by any deal and thinks U.S. diplomats are being naive. Democrats, by contrast, see a verifiable agreement that removes Iran’s nukes as increasing Israel’s security.

The fact that neither Boehner nor Dermer cleared the speech first with the White House, and that it comes just two weeks before Israeli elections was seen by the administration and senior Democrats as particularly manipulative. Footage of Netanyahu being applauded by the U.S. Congress and railing against Iran couldn’t help but bolster his image just before voters decide whether to keep his Likud party in power, they say.

Both sides are accusing the other of excessive partisanship. Democrats say that Boehner politicized the speech by inviting Netanyahu behind the White House’s back. Republicans say it’s actually the Democrats who’ve made things worse by threatening not to be there for a key ally just to settle a score with Boehner.

Either way, most observers of American-Israeli relations say Netanyahu and his aides appear to have misread Washington politics even more seriously than his not-so-subtle attempt to rally support behind Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. Privately, diplomats and Democrats in Congress scoff at the Israeli government’s claim that they were caught off guard by how partisan the situation has became. Democratic leaders are pushing for Netanyahu to reconsider, or cancel the speech altogether.

But as of now, the speech still looks like it’s going forward, and the Republican Jewish Coalition will be taking attendance.

“This is, I think a critical visit by the prime minister. If these Democrats would rather put partisan politics ahead of principle and walk out on the prime minister of Israel, then we have an obligation to make that known,” said Matt Brooks, the executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Brooks wouldn’t specify what methods this shaming campaign would use, but he promised that his group would do what it could. And since it’s backed in part by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who’s led efforts to connect Republican politics to support of Israel, there’s at least an implicit threat to use his funds to draw attention in the districts and home states of any member who’s not in the chamber to listen to Netanyahu on March 3. Aides to Adelson did not respond to requests for comment.

“We will commit whatever resources we need to make sure that people are aware of the facts, that given the choice to stand with Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu in opposition to a nuclear Iran, they chose partisan interests and to stand with President Obama,” Brooks said.

Other groups are sending similar messages.

“We will, of course, be publicly condemning any Democrats who don’t show up for the speech—unless they have a doctor’s note,” said Mort Klein, president of the 30,000-member Zionist Organization of America. “It’s really an anti-American, anti-patriotic position to take.”

AIPAC, the largest U.S. pro-Israel lobby that’s officially nonpartisan but often seen as leaning right, is encouraging members of Congress to attend the speech. But the group has been largely silent about the controversy to this point.

An AIPAC spokesman declined comment on plans around the speech. Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a separate speech to the AIPAC annual conference in Washington as part of the same trip.

Congress can argue about whether Boehner and Netanyahu violated protocol, but Democrats have no choice to show now, argued former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer.

“Whether that’s true or not, what difference does it make? At this point, the prime minister is coming. Are you really going to boycott him?” Fleischer said.

Fleischer predicted that most Democrats will ultimately show for the speech. But if they don’t, he said they’ll be succumbing to political pressure from their liberal base that will lead to more partisan discord in the America-Israel relationship.

“If they boycott the speech, they’ll be casting their lot with the more liberal, not pro-Israel base of the party, and that would be a shocking development. It would be a radical break,” Fleischer said.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, a freshman from New York who’s currently the only Jewish Republican in Congress, said he believes the only reason Democrats are voicing concern about the speech is to give President Barack Obama cover.

“There really isn’t any debate as to what the right decision is,” Zeldin said.

“Israel is our strongest ally, and in an area of the world that is facing the rising tide of radical Islamic extremism and state sponsors of terrorism in pursuit of nuclear capability,” Zeldin said. “It really should be a no-brainer to warmly embrace the leader of Israel, no matter who that person is ever, without missing a beat.”

Comments like these inflame an already tense Hill even more. Told that Republicans are now blaming Democrats for turning Netanyahu’s visit partisan, Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.)—who hosted a meeting between Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer and seven Jewish Democratic lawmakers Wednesday morning where all said they weren’t planning to boycott, but wanted a way out—called this ridiculous Republican spin.

“Partisan hackery of this nature doesn’t deserve a response and is beneath the dignity of the bipartisan nature of U.S.-Israeli relations,” Israel said.

The threats of punishment don’t have many Democrats worried. Though some left-leaning Jewish leaders have also warned of the unpredictable politics of actually going through with skipping the speech, Hill Democrats say they’re confident that most reaction will continue to be defined by seeing the invitation as a transparent ploy by Boehner and Netanyahu.

And though they’re aware of just how big the checks are that pro-Republican and pro-Netanyahu forces can say they’ll write, they’re not worried about losing support from Democrats, independents or most American Jews.

“Our members who are staunchly pro-Israel, who go out there every day and talk about this, are against this,” said a senior House aide.

The aide predicted that though a number of Democrats will skip the speech — either out of protest, or because of scheduling conflicts — any Democrats who might be vulnerable to public punishment campaign would likely make the decision to attend anyway.

“I don’t know what the base of appeal is for such [a shaming] attack,” the aide said. “It’s the people who already agree with them already, which is obviously a small number of people in every district. … It’s a waste of money, but go for it.”

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