Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry met with the election opponent of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while at a security conference in Munich, Germany. This came one day after Biden announced he would not be attending Netanyahu’s speech to Congress next month.
JP Updates reported Biden and Kerry met with Isaac Herzog, leader of Israel’s Labor Party, in an informal manner Saturday. Israeli media noted the talks centered around security matters and the Zionist Union’s defense tactics.
The White House said President Obama will not meet with Netanyahu when he is in Washington next month, citing a desire to stay impartial ahead of the March 17 Israeli elections.



Advertisement-content continues below


While addressing the Munich conference, Herzog called on his opponent to withdraw from addressing Congress:
The time has come when Bibi [Netanyahu] must announce the cancellation of his visit to Congress. In conversations I’ve held with many European and U.S. leaders, it is clear there is great anger over Netanyahu diverting the discussion on Iran’s nuclear program for political gain, and turning it into a confrontation with the president of the United States.
“This speech that was born in sin, as an electioneering ‘production,’ endangers the security of Israel’s citizens and the special relationship between Israel and the US,” Herzog added.
Advertisement-content continues below


Biden announced Friday he would not be in Congress during Netanyahu’s visit, slated for March 3. He will be making a foreign trip, though details of the trip have not yet been made known. “We are not ready to announce details of his trip yet, and normally our office wouldn’t announce this early, but the planning process has been underway for awhile,” Biden’s office told Talking Points Memo last week.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont was the latest member of Congress and the first U.S. Senator to announce he would not be attending the speech next month, reported ABC News.