The way you presented the argument that Benjamin Netanyahu is politicizing his clash with the United States reveals much about the way The Jewish Week chooses to look at politics in the U.S. (“Bibi Campaigning On Clash With U.S.?” Feb. 27)
From the headline, to the position of the article on Page 1, to the caption and to the way the argument is presented shows that contributing editor Nathan Jeffay is opposed to Netanyahu, and implies that The Jewish Week shares this opinion.
Jeffay writes, “We were trying to believe it — that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Congress speech is all about safeguarding Israel and not motivated by electioneering.” He could have easily said the reverse, “We’re trying to believe that Netanyahu’s speech is all about electioneering and not motivated by safeguarding Israel.” Similarly, the caption under Netanyahu’s portrait reads, “Benjamin Netanyahu seen politicizing his disagreements with the Obama administration.” And your headline reads, “Bibi Campaigning On Clash with U.S.” But Bibi doesn’t have a clash with the United States; it’s specifically with Obama and his supporters.
Whether or not Netanyahu’s campaign videos are appropriate or not is really beside the point. His re-election is an internal matter for Israeli voters to decide and isn’t relevant to the issue of whether or not he should address Congress. His campaign doesn’t have to meet the approval of Americans. All that is relevant is helping the United States decide on how best to deal with Iran, and that’s what we should be discussing, not Bibi’s election strategies.
Iran’s unswerving path to nuclear dominance threatens the safety of Israel and the rest of the world. Combatting this is what The Jewish Week should focus on and not allow petty political issues to distract us.
Forest Hills, Queens
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