President Barack Obama’s national security advisor has sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to speak before Congress about the U.S.-led talks with Iran over its nuclear program. 

Netanyahu has accepted an invitation by House Speaker John Boehner to address a joint meeting of Congress on March 3, two weeks before Israeli parliamentary elections.  In an interview Tuesday with U.S. television journalist Charlie Rose, Susan Rice said the decision has “injected a degree of partisanship” to bilateral ties between the United States and Israel.

Rice said Netanyahu’s decision is not only unfortunate, “it is destructive of the fabric of the relationship.”

The White House is angry that Boehner offered the invitation to the Israeli leader without informing Obama administration officials. Obama has since announced he will not meet with Netanyahu during his visit, in order to avoid any appearance that he is trying to influence the Israeli elections.

Several Democratic lawmakers have announced they will not attend Netanyahu’s speech in response to Boehner’s invitation. Vice President Joe Biden, who would normally be in attendance in his constitutional role as president of the U.S. Senate, will be traveling abroad.

For his part, Netanyahu turned down an invitation by Democratic senators to hold a private meeting with them during his visit. In a letter to Illinois Senator Richard Durbin, Netanyahu said such a meeting “at this time could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit.”

“We offered the Prime Minister an opportunity to balance the politically divisive invitation from Speaker Boehner with a private meeting with Democrats who are committed to keeping the bipartisan support of Israel strong,” Durbin said in a written statement. “His refusal to meet is disappointing to those of us who have stood by Israel for decades.”
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