Update: this action, now closed, ran in February 2015. 

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ohio Republican John Boehner, has issued an invitation for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on March 3. According to his own account, Boehner did so in coordination with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Boehner’s invitation to Netanyahu has drawn criticism, bafflement, and outrage from across the political spectrum – in the U.S., in Israel and around the world. This invitation was made without coordinating with the White House, in violation of protocol – but it violated much more than that.

In recent weeks, attention has focused on the outrage surrounding Netanyahu’s March 3rd speech to Congress, and House Speaker Boehner's invitation to Netanyahu. After Netanyahu's speech, focus must revert to the real issues: Iran negotiations, deal or no deal, war or peace. Prime Minister Netanyahu has made clear that any viable, reasonable deal – a deal that both Iran could accept and one that meets the red lines of the P5+1 negotiators – would never reach his standard. With the deadline for a framework agreement with Iran approaching (March 23rd) and with AIPAC getting into gear, pressure is mounting on members of Congress to proceed with new legislation – sanctions and other initiatives – that could kill a deal before it is reached or render any deal dead on arrival.