Netanyahu apologizes to U.S. lawmaker for praising Fidel Castro

[azurnoir]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to a Republican congresswoman two weeks ago for having praised Fidel Castro after the former Cuban leader made positive remarks about Israel.

In a September interview with The Atlantic reporter Jeffrey Goldberg, Castro defended Israel and Jews and criticized Iran, leading to praise from Netanyahu and a friendly letter from President Shimon Peres.

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, a legislator since 1989 and the most senior Republican woman in the U.S. House, is incoming chairwoman of the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee. Representing Florida's 18th Congressional District - which includes part of Miami-Dade County, with its large Cuban-immigrant community - she is known in Washington for her hard line against the Cuban regime as well as her unflinching support for Israel.

Ros-Lehtinen was born in Havana, and as a girl came to Florida, where her father continued the anti-Castro campaign among Cuban expatriates. Over the past few years she has sponsored several legislative measures against the island's Communist regime and has gone as far as to call for Castro's assassination.

On hearing about Netanyahu's praise for Castro's remarks, Ros-Lehtinen contacted several Israeli officials asking them to urge the prime minister to retract his comments. On his visit to the U.S. two weeks ago, the prime minister called the lawmaker by phone and apologized.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-apologizes-to-u-s-lawmaker-for-praising-fidel-castro-1.326462

[dipsydoodle]

1. I've cross posted this in the Latin American Forum

Thanks for posting.

Sounds like she's just another Miami bovine.

[thunder rising]

2. Boycott of Cuba hasn't worked for 50 years ... we're not clapping loud enough.

The hard-line Cuba position is like marijuana prohibition, the war on drugs in general and of late the war on terra. They just create misery, cost money and accomplish nothing.

[oberliner]

3. The US has too much influence in Israeli politics

Always cow-towing to their demands.

[shaayecanaan]

5. Only certain demands...

and generally those coming from the right. For example, Israel agreed to not sell China avionics systems after receiving pressure from the US. And they also agreed to shelve the building of an indigenous fighter capability after US defence firms complained.

The only exception to this would be Israel cutting off relations with apartheid South Africa after US Jewish organisations told them there was no way they could sell that to the American public.

[Crunchy Frog]

4. He knows what side his bread is buttered on,

and also that the Castro hating Cuba lobby is powerful in much the same way as the Israel lobby. I'm sure that nobody wants to see a Republican try to decide which of those groups to kow tow more to.