Will Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon be walking in the footsteps of the great British statesman Winston Churchill?
In a few hours, Prime Minister Netanyahu will be delivering his much anticipated presentation about the nuclear threat from Iran to the joint houses of the United States Congress. This significant speech, controversial as it has become, will indeed be the speech of a lifetime for Netanyahu, with significant military and political ramifications on both sides of the ocean.
In recent days, the political darts have been flying fast and furious, and have been aimed at Netanyahu from three primary directions, each with a not-so-altruistic interest in minimizing the impact of his presentation:
1. The Obama administration. The pressure in the form of not-so-veiled attacks on Netanyahu has been intense from President Barack Obama through his surrogates, who are hoping that the imminent nuclear deal between the P5+1 powers and Iran will be the shining crown achievement of his second term in the White House. As the March 31 deadline for an agreement with Iran approaches, reports coming out of Jerusalem have made it clear that the proposed deal will enable Iran to gradually achieve nuclear weapons capability. Obama is concerned that Netanyahu’s speech may actually succeed in exposing the danger to Israel and the free world, thus torpedoing the deal.
2. The Zionist camp (Labor-Tnuah) political party. In fear of the boost that a powerful speech to Congress might give Netanyahu’s Likud in the March 17 elections, the Israeli Left is having political conniptions over the Netanyahu speech. Despite the fact that Zionist Camp co-leader Herzog has stated that he shares Netanyahu’s views on the Iran issue, he and his colleagues are vigorously stoking the political flames by publicly criticizing the speech, as well as Netanyahu’s character.
3. The Iranian regime. Even though the Iranian leadership has been quoted as saying, “The Americans are begging for an agreement,” the mullahs who control Iran are, in fact, quite eager for a deal that will enable their nuclear weapons program to go forward, albeit with some restrictions that will essentially only affect the timing of its implementation. Therefore, they are very concerned about the potential impact of the speech to Congress.
An Opportunity For Greatness
In summation, Congress can be very influential in approving or disapproving of the impending deal and that is where the Prime Minister’s focus must be. Secretary of State John Kerry’s announcement that he will be in Geneva negotiating with Iran during the Netanyahu speech speaks volumes about the Obama administration’s general abandonment of one of America’s closest allies.
Despite, or maybe because of this very public drama, all eyes will be on Washington tomorrow when Netanyahu delivers what promises to be the speech of a lifetime. The late and great British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was known for his powerful speeches warning the free world about the Nazi threat, as well as the need to stand up to the danger of Islam, even though the Muhammadan religion was then at a much earlier stage in its Jihadist actualization.
For Netanyahu, in the age of almost nuclear Iran, ISIS, Hamas, and Hezbollah, this will truly be a Churchill moment, an opportunity to inspire the world to action, and indeed, to greatness. The message is much greater than the petty politics on both sides of the ocean, and hopefully, he will boldly rise to the occasion. Will his message be heeded?
David Rubin is former mayor of Shiloh, Israel. He is founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund, and the author of four books, including The Islamic Tsunami and his latest, Sparks From Zion. His writings can be found at DavidRubinIsrael.com or at ShilohIsraelChildren.org.
For the original article, visit israelnationalnews.com. Used with permission.
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