WASHINGTON
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to Congress is "destructive" to the U.S.-Israel relationship, according to U.S.’s national security advisor.
"What has happened over the last several weeks, by virtue of the invitation that was issued by the speaker and the acceptance of it by Prime Minister Netanyahu two weeks in advance of his election, is that on both sides, there has now been injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it's destructive of the fabric of the relationship," said Susan Rice during an interview with veteran newsman Charlie Rose on Tuesday night on Public Broadcast Service stations.
"It's always been bipartisan. We need to keep it that way. We want it that way. I think Israel wants it that way. The American people want it that way. When it becomes injected or infused with politics, that's a problem," she added.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner last month invited Netanyahu to address Congress without first consulting the Obama administration.
During his March 3 address, Netanyahu is widely expected to rally opposition to a nuclear deal with Iran just weeks before a critical deadline in negotiations.
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have said that they would not meet with the Israeli leader while he is in Washington, citing the trip’s proximity to Israel’s March 17 elections. And Vice President Joe Biden, who as the president of the senate would normally be present at a joint session of Congress, is expected to be on foreign travel during the speech.
Earlier this month, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, who is among 29 lawmakers not expected to attend Netanyahu’s address, said in a statement that the speech is "a tawdry and high-handed stunt that has embarrassed not only Israel but the Congress itself."
Netanyahu declined Tuesday an invitation from two senior senators to meet with Senate Democrats during his trip to Washington, saying "that doing so at this time could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit."
