CNN news 2015-03-07 加文本

cnn news 2015-03-07

CARL AZUZ, HOST: Welcome to cnn STUDENT NEWS.

I`m Carl Azuz.

First up, a major speech by a world leader. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared before the U.S. Congress yesterday. Usually,

the White House is consulted before Congress invites a world leader to speak. But Republican House speaker, John Boehner didn`t tell the

president before this invitation and one subject covered by Prime Minister Netanyahu is something President Obama strongly disagrees with.

More than 50 of the 232 Democrats in Congress boycotted the speech, though the public galleries were standing room only.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is up for reelection on March 17th.

How did he get to where he is?

ELISE LABOTT, cnn CORRESPONDENT: In 1949, just one year after the state of Israel was founded, Benjamin Netanyahu was born. He would come to

be known by his nickname, Bebe.

Netanyahu, who spent part of his teen years in the United States, where his father taught Jewish history at Cornell University. He served

for six years in the Israeli Army in an elite commando unit until he was wounded in a rescue operation during an airplane hijacking in 1972.

He returned to the U.S., earning degrees in architecture and business from MIT.

But a dramatic event in 1976 would have a lasting effect. Netanyahu`s brother, Yonatan, was killed in a raid to free hostages from an Air France

jet which had been hijacked by pro-Palestinian terrorists. His death had a profound effect on Netanyahu, who founded an anti-terror institute named

after his brother and became quite outspoken about the threat posed by terrorism.

Now, this attracted the attention of prominent Israeli officials, setting the course for his future career in politics.

Netanyahu was given high profile diplomatic assignments in Washington and New York and started making frequent appearances on U.S. talk shows.

In 1988, he returned to Israel and was elected to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. In 1996, he became the country`s youngest prime

minister, shortly after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. But he was defeated three years later, after signing an interim peace

agreement with then Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

And Netanyahu eventually returned to politics and moved back up the ranks of the Likud Party, becoming prime minister again in 2009.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This is a bomb.

LABOTT: Netanyahu`s emphasis on security, particularly speaking out loudly on Iran and his counter-offensives against Hamas in Gaza, have

boosted his popularity in Israel. But a peace deal with the Palestinians remains elusive and Netanyahu is finding himself increasingly alienated

from Western partners, most significantly, the United States.

He`s shied away from being called a survivor, but Netanyahu`s ability to weather crisis with his savvy television skills and use of the media

have earned him the label, the Teflon prime minister.

AZUZ: When he spoke on Capitol Hill, Prime Minister Netanyahu said he never intended for his visit to be political, but that he was addressing a

subject that could threaten his country. That subject, a deal the Obama administration is working on with Iran over the Middle Eastern nation`s

controversial nuclear program.

The White House is pushing Iran to put this program on hold. It wants Iran to allow international inspectors to make sure the country doesn`t

make a nuclear weapon.

In exchange, the U.S. would lift its economic sanctions, its penalties on Iran over the program. But Israel`s leader called the potential deal a

bad one, saying Iran will cheat and make a weapon anyway.

Iran has threatened Israel in the past and Prime Minister Netanyahu says the Obama administration`s deal would leave Israel in grave trouble.

NETANYAHU: So this deal won`t change Iran for the better. It will only change the Middle East for the worse. A deal that`s supposed to

prevent nuclear proliferation would instead spark a nuclear arms race in the most dangerous part of the planet.

This deal won`t be a farewell to arms, it would be a farewell to arms control.

AZUZ: The White House, whose relations with Israel are strained, says the prime minister`s speech was all talk and no action.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we`re successful negotiating, then, in fact, this will be the best deal possible to prevent

Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Nothing else comes close. Sanctions won`t do it. Even military action would not be as successful as the deal

that we have put forward.