House condemns Obama on Israel

Last week, Barack Obama kicked American-Israeli relations to their lowest point in decades by abandoning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House. An Israeli aide later said Netayahu had been treated in a way usually reserved for the president of Equatorial Guinea. Obama's actions were so offensive that a heavy majority in the House of Representatives condemned the president over the weekend.

Meanwhile, in Washington, 337 congressmen – three-quarters of the House of Representatives – signed a bipartisan letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing solid support for Israel and the expectation that differences between Jerusalem and Washington will be smoothed over quickly and in private.

“We are writing to reaffirm our commitment to the unbreakable bond that exists between our country and the State of Israel and to express to you our deep concern over recent tension,” the letter read. “A strong Israel is an asset to the national security of the United States and brings stability to the Middle East.

“We are concerned that the highly publicized tensions in the relationship will not advance the interests the US and Israel share. Above all, we must remain focused on the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear weapons program to Middle East peace and stability.”

The letter stated that the US’s unswerving commitment to Israel’s security has been essential in forging previous Israeli-Arab peace agreements, “both because it convinced those who sought Israel’s destruction to abandon any such hope and because it gave successive Israeli governments the confidence to take calculated risks for peace.”

"Deep concern" is fighting words in Capitol Hill's hyper-polite culture. Condemnation of his policy on Israel might be Obama's first, real, bipartisan achievement. The highest signatories were House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor. Blue Dog Democrats also signed en masse.

All this led to some spectacular backtracking by David Axelrod. The president's advisor had previously called Netanyahu's decision to build apartments in East Jerusalem "destructive" to peace and "an insult." Yesterday on CNN, he moderated his rhetoric, insisting that there had been "no snub intended" by the United States and that Israel is a "close, dear and valued friend of the United States, a great ally, and that is an unshakeable bond." All this should serve as a message to moderate Democrat congressmen: If you band together and stand firm, the president will be forced to listen.

Meanwhile, Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, has kept his lips sealed. He can't be happy about the administration's snub though. Emanuel is a former civilian volunteer with the Israeli Defense Forces and has strong connections to Israel. He's also a close friend of Axelrod's, with whom he's likely spoken since Netanyahu's visit.