Leading members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are lining up to skip a coming speech by the prime minister of Israel.
Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights icon, and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), the chairman of the CBC, said they won't attend Benjamin Netanyahu's March 3 speech before Congress to protest Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) decision to invite the prime minister without first consulting President Obama and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill.
Butterfield said that move marked an "unprecedented overreach of the Speaker’s authority" that "goes beyond the traditions of his office."
"It is baffling that Speaker Boehner, who incessantly proclaims executive overreach by the president, would buck long standing diplomatic protocol to extend such an invitation," Butterfield said in a statement.
"His actions unnecessarily politicize our steadfast relationship with Israel, and potentially subvert U.S. foreign policy," he added. "The United States is and will remain Israel’s strongest ally. However, I refuse to be a part of a political stunt aimed at undercutting President Obama.”
In an interview with the Associated Press, Lewis delivered a similar message.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/231915-top-black-dems-to-skip-netanyahu-speech
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