'History is being made': Birmingham Jewish leader on Israeli prime minister's speech to Congress

Richard Friedman, a former reporter for The Birmingham News who is now executive director of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, watched today's speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S. Congress and offered the following real-time analysis on his blog.

By Richard Friedman
Never have I seen an Israeli prime minister more maligned by the media and top US government officials. I come across an email from the Gallup organization. Reports Gallup, "Ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress that has strained relations between Israel and the White House, nearly twice as many Americans view Israel's leader favorably (45%) as unfavorably (24%). Netanyahu's favorable score is up from 35% in 2012." And, Gallup notes, "Even if Netanyahu has seen his relationship with the White House deteriorate, it appears to have had no impact on his standing with the American people." As an American, a Jew and a supporter of Israel, this makes me feel good.

CNN, blaring in the background, is reporting that President Obama does not plan to watch the speech. Obama calls it a "distraction." Reports are that Netanyahu has been warned by the White House not to reveal all that he knows. If he does, it is said, he will risk damaging the intelligence sharing relationship between the US and Israel. About one of ten Members of Congress are boycotting the speech. Samantha emails me as the CNN report continues. She and others from Birmingham, on Capitol Hill this morning as part of the AIPAC conference, will be watching the speech in the office of Gary Palmer, Birmingham's new congressman.

10:07 AM. The moment is here as I watch CSPAN. Netanyahu has just entered the chamber and the applause is loud and sustained. Bibi chats warmly with many Members of Congress as he makes his way to the front of the chamber. Jews throughout the world and Israel's many other friends are watching, along with the Jewish state's adversaries -- and, unfortunately, there are many.

Jews are worried. I find myself thinking about one older Birmingham Jewish community leader who asked me privately if I thought Jews coming down on the side of Netanyahu in his dispute with Obama, over the best way to stop Iran, would rekindle the false, anti-Semitic charge of "dual loyalty" that Jews have faced over the centuries. I told him no. This is America and we have our right as Americans to stand up for what we believe in, especially when it is for the good of our country. Plus Gallup and Pew polls continue to show strong support among the American people for Israel. Other long-time BJF supporters called and emailed me Monday asking how they could watch Netanyahu's address.

10:19 AM. The Prime Minister of Israel is making his case -- on behalf of his country, stability in the Middle East, the Western world and the Jewish people. The proposed agreement with Iran, negotiated by the US and otheworld powers with the Iranian regime, is bad, full of loopholes and could lead to disaster down the road, he explains. Netanyahu's tone is respectful and deferential, both to the President and Congress, but forthright, serious and determined.
"I deeply regret that some perceive of me being here today as political. That was never my intention," Netanyahu says as he thanks both Democrats and Republicans for their support of Israel. He pays tribute to President Obama, citing all the President has done for Israel -- some of it known and some of it less well-known. "I will always be grateful to President Obama for that support."

Netanyahu says he's come today to talk "about the survival of my country and the future of my people" -- both now threatened, he believes, by Iran's quest for nuclear weapons. "Iran's supreme leader fuses the oldest hatred -- anti-Semitism -- with the newest technology. He tweets that 'Israel must be destroyed,'" says Netanyahu.

The Prime Minister compares the Iranian regime to Nazism, posing a threat to the peace of the entire world. Iran should not be rewarded, as he believes the pending deal will do, but should be restricted and confronted at every turn, as long as it fosters terror throughout the world, continues on its path to take over other countries, and works toward annihilating the world's only Jewish state. His remarks generate loud and sustained applause.
History is being made; where this history will lead us is very much on my mind. I realize, perhaps more than ever, that I am a child of Jewish history. Born in 1949, in the aftermath of the Holocaust and right after the rebirth of Israel as a modern state, I have never known first-hand the powerlessness that Netanyahu talked about in his AIPAC address. However, I do know, as do so many other Jews in America, the pain that remains for decades over loved ones lost in the Holocaust. They are our "missing family" -- as I call them -- murdered by hate-driven fanatics, led by a charismatic dictator and armed with the world's most sophisticated weaponry.

There was no Israel and there was no AIPAC, I find myself thinking, picturing the 16,000 people who have assembled in Washington, including a delegation from Alabama, meeting with their Senate and House members today to protect Israel's welfare and advance the US-Israel relationship. A few years before I was born, Jews were hiding in sewers, trying to elude the Nazis; today, Israel -- the Jewish state -- is one of the most successful and capable countries on earth. As I'm reflecting on this, Netanyahu emphasizes to Congress that the Jewish people "can defend ourselves" and will not remain passive in the face of the Iranian threat or any other threat. "I can promise you...even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand."

10:51 AM. Prime Minister Netanyahu is done speaking. He's surrounded by Members of Congress who've embraced his message as they congratulate him on his remarks. The upbeat nature of the scene belies the seriousness of the occasion and solemnity of his message, and the most important question of all: What's next? This will remain to be seen, but he has clearly and explicitly stated his views and concerns. Certainly he has allies in Congress, but it's just as certain that there are those in the White House and Congress ready to challenge all that he said.

History has turned another page; though there's much more to be written in this critically-important saga. Will the Israeli Prime Minister's arguments take hold? Will Congress become even more skeptical of the Iranians and any proposed agreement? Will Washington -- and the American people -- see Israel's stature as enhanced as a result of this tiny country's prime minister coming to Washington today with his eloquent warning?
Or will there be further fraying of the critically-important US-Israel relationship with the back and forth maneuvering and political sniping intensifying? Will Netanyahu remain in office as prime minister, forming a new government that many predict will be more hard-line than the current one? Or will he go down to defeat, turned back at the polls by Israelis who wanted a change? For all of that -- in fact, for all of the unknowns mentioned above -- stay tuned.