Israel Matzav

Former Knesset speaker slams Obama for not visiting Knesset

Knesset Member Ruby Rivlin (Likud), who was the speaker of the previous Knesset, has slammed President Hussein Obama for not visiting the Knesset.

US President Barack Obama's decision not to visit the Knesset is "worrying," former Knesset Speaker MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud Beytenu) said ahead of Obama's arrival in Israel Wednesday.

"Three American presidents have spoken on the Knesset stage, as well as [former Egyptian president Anwar] Sadat and leaders from Europe," Rivlin said. "President Obama should speak to the people of Israel through its elected representatives."

According to Rivlin, Obama's decision not to speak in the Knesset is a cause for concern because it shows that he does not have faith in the representatives of the nation to which he is speaking.

I don't think it's a question of faith so much as it's Obama trying to circumvent Israel's politicians as if Mrs. Cohen from Hadera is going to put Iran 15 kilometers away because Obama told her it's safe. We're back to Obama's 2008 charm offensives where he thinks he can convince anyone of anything. And frankly, yes, it's offensive but so is this entire trip.

Former US presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have addressed the Knesset in the past. Former president Richard Nixon visited the Knesset, but did not give a speech on its stage.

As we now know thanks to Woodward and Bernstein, but did not know then, Nixon had phlebitis in his leg when he was here and probably could not have stood up long enough to address the Knesset.

Rivlin, at the request of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and National Security Council leader Yaakov Amidror, reached agreements with MKs to prevent them from interrupting the US president or demonstrating against him in protest of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard's continued incarceration, were Obama to visit the legislature.

"Unfortunately, despite these agreements, which were reported to the Americans, President Obama decided not to visit the Knesset, a decision which is in bad taste," he said.

Obama should be forced to face Israel's elected representatives about Pollard and about many other matters.

The former Knesset speaker also protested the reasoning for Obama not visiting the Knesset, which is that in his last visit to Cairo, he did not address the Egyptian Parliament. 

Egypt was a dictatorship then and is a dictatorship now. We're a democracy and that's supposed to be different. I'm sure that in every other democracy he visited, Obama visited the legislature. But I leave it to you readers to check that. 

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Israeli Knesset, Ruby Rivlin

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:57 PM