Call it the tale of two invites: House Speaker John A. Boehner says he followed the same protocols for inviting both Pope Francis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress, but one of those has been met with universal praise, while the other has frayed relations in Washington and Israel.
Democrats are feverishly trying to cancel Mr. Netanyahu’s March 3 speech, saying it’s an affront to President Obama, and accusing the Republican speaker of acting in an underhanded way by not alerting the White House of the invitation ahead of time.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a former House speaker herself, said Mr. Boehner’s move could even prompt Congress to “review the idea of joint sessions of Congress” because it’s caused such a political headache. She wouldn’t commit to showing up for Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, but said she is going to try to make it.
“As of now it is my intention to go. It’s still my hope that the event [does] not take place,” she said.
There will be no such reluctant calculations, however, for the pope’s Sept. 24 address to a joint session of Congress, which drew universal praise.
Mrs. Pelosi said Congress was “honored and overjoyed” by the pope’s announcement; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called him “inspirational”; and Mr. Boehner, who issued the invitation to the pope more than 10 months ago, said hosting the head of the Catholic Church and head of state of the Vatican “would honor our nation.”
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Mr. Boehner announced at his weekly press conference Thursday that the pope had accepted his invitation — just minutes after Mrs. Pelosi, at her weekly press conference, blasted the speaker for the Netanyahu invite, saying it amounted to meddling in Israeli politics.
“Israel’s election is two weeks before his supposed speech before the Congress,” she said. “I think going forward in this way, the way this conversation is taking so much energy and is really stressful, is really beneath the dignity of the challenge that we have: stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”
Democrats fear that Mr. Netanyahu’s speech will embarrass Mr. Obama, who is locked in tricky negotiations with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. Mr. Netanyahu has been critical of those negotiations, as have many Republicans and some Democrats in Congress, who believe the administration has allowed Iran to break interim agreements without any consequences.
Mr. Boehner defended his decision to issue the invite.
“It was a very good idea, and there’s a message that the American people need to hear, and I think he’s the perfect person to deliver it,” the Ohio Republican said. “The threat of radical Islamist terrorists is a real threat. The threat of Iran to the region and the rest of the world is a real threat.”
On Wednesday a group of Jewish Democrats in the House pressed Israel’s ambassador to postpone the speech or move it to another venue, saying it was a “thumb in the eye” to Mr. Obama.
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Several Democrats have said they plan to miss the speech, and the White House has even hinted Vice President Joseph R. Biden, who, as presiding officer of the Senate, would normally sit on the dais with Mr. Boehner — just behind the prime minister — may skip it.
Mrs. Pelosi said lawmakers are busy, and listening to a visiting head of state is “not a high priority for them.” Indeed, the chamber often has to be filled with pages and other congressional staff so that it doesn’t appear to be empty for other foreign leaders.
The White House has not called for Mr. Netanyahu or Mr. Boehner to cancel the speech, though it did label the invitation a “departure from protocol.”
Spokesman Josh Earnest laughed off questions Thursday about whether protocol was followed on the pope’s visit.
“Didn’t used to have to ask those questions, did we?” he said, before adding that White House officials had been anticipating the papal visit “for quite some time.”
Mr. Boehner’s office said it didn’t check with the White House before the pope’s invitation was sent last March.
Protocol experts said it is up to Mr. Boehner to decide whom to invite to address Congress, and while there may be some coordination or custom involved in alerting the White House, there is no requirement.
“It’s a co-equal branch’s invitation; it’s not the executive branch,” said Ambassador Donald Ensenat, who was the administration’s chief protocol officer under President George W. Bush.
In at least one way, the Pope Francis invite is a bigger matter protocol-wise. He is considered a head of state as the leader of the Vatican, while Mr. Netanyahu is not the head of state of Israel. That would be the Israeli president, which, while a mostly ceremonial position, is still considered officially the top post.
Still, there’s a heightened “sensitivity” to inviting Mr. Netanyahu conferred by world events, said Pamela Eyring, president of the Protocol School of Washington.
“When you invite His Holiness, it’s sort of a blessing to have him come. Not that the Israeli prime minister is a problematic person, but the politics — you’ll see more division of support, and it could be for the country, the office or the person. It’s more politically charged versus His Holiness, who gives blessings to everyone,” she said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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