Liberal Sen. Sanders to skip Netanyahu speech to Congress

Independent from Vermont says Israeli PM should have consulted White House ahead of time

By Andrew Taylor 9 February 2015, 8:23 pm

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a town hall meeting in Ames, Iowa. Sanders says he’ll decide by March whether to launch a 2016 presidential campaign. (photo credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall)

WASHINGTON — A liberal US senator said he will skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint meeting of Congress early next month, saying President Barack Obama should have been consulted before the invitation was extended.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, was the first senator to announce he won’t attend the speech. Democratic Reps. John Lewis and Jim Clyburn are among a handful in their party who have pledged to boycott Netanyahu’s speech.

House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, extended the invitation — which comes two weeks before Israel’s elections — without consulting the White House.

Netanyahu is a sharp critic of administration negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, and Democrats fear he’ll use the opportunity to embarrass Obama and further his own re-election prospects.