Dermer dines with freshman Democrats

WASHINGTON — Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer dined with a group of freshman Democrats from the House of Representatives Monday evening, seeking to quiet the acrimony between some Democrats and the Embassy in Washington following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress early this month.

House sources confirmed to the Times of Israel that the dinner, first reported by CNN, was taking place. They said that the invitation was extended only to Democratic freshman. Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), who brokered the evening get-together at the ambassador’s residence, has spoken out in recent days that there is no contradiction between being a pro-Israel Jew and a Democrat.

Speaking on CNN Sunday, Rep. Israel criticized those who “reduce the relationship between Israel and the United States to a political football.”

Israel was one of the Democratic legislators who escorted Netanyahu to the House floor as he prepared to deliver the speech that spurred this round of acrimony. Some Democrats joined the Obama administration in criticizing Netanyahu for accepting the invitation brokered between Dermer and Speaker of the House John Boehner to speak before both houses of Congress. Netanyahu’s speech challenged the administration’s position in talks with Iran, noted that he had previously publicly disagreed with the Obama administration over a number of Israel-related concerns.

During his CNN interview, he said, “Everybody needs to take a deep breath and step back.”

“There’s the personality and then there’s the policy,” Israel explained, referring to the well-documented acrimony between Netanyahu and Obama. “But what counts is the substance, and on the substance the relationship between the US and Israel has never been closer on military, strategic and intelligence issues.”