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Israel has ‘stranglehold’ on all US institutions: Ex-Senate candidate

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an AIPAC conference on March 2, 2015 in Washington, DC. (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address to Congress shows that Israel and its powerful lobby has a “stranglehold” on all institutions in the United States, says an analyst and former US Senate candidate.

“The entire situation with the speech that is coming up is designed to show the world that Israel has a stranglehold on the American banking system, the American congressional system, the American news media, (and) the American national security establishment,” Mark Dankof said in an interview with Press TV on Monday.

In January, US House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to Washington hours after President Barack Obama threatened to veto any sanctions legislation against Iran during his State of the Union address.

The Israeli primer arrived in Washington Sunday night. He delivered a speech at the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbying group on Monday.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday to warn against an emerging nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1-- the US, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany.

The congressional speech presents a “historic turning point” for the average American to begin to realize that “Israel has stolen this country blind, that it has no respect for our people and our institutions and that it expects this symbiotic, parasitic relationship to continue,” Dankof said.  

“The American people from this point on forward have an opportunity to look at this Netanyahu speech as a symbolic event, showing that there was a particular day in American history when people across the American political spectrum began to reclaim their political process, their institutions and their country,” he added.

Speaking at the AIPAC conference, Netanyahu tried to play down any personal dispute with President Obama, but said he has a “moral obligation” to warn against a nuclear deal with Iran.

He said his congressional address, which was arranged without consultation with the White House, was not “intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or to the esteemed office that he holds.”

Netanyahu said that he would use his “voice” as the prime minister of Israel to speak about a country that is “threatening to destroy Israel” and is developing “the capacity to make nuclear weapons.”

“I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these dangers while there is still time to avert them,” he added.

President Obama, his secretary of state, John Kerry, and Vice President Joe Biden all boycotted the AIPAC conference.

HRJ/HRJ


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