White House "Deeply Concerned" About Netanyahu Comments
BURNETT: Tonight, the White House sending a warning to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A spokesman for President Obama saying he's quote, "deeply concerned about Netanyahu's comments about Arabs." Netanyahu urged conservative voters to go to the polls yesterday. He did it by warning that leftists were bringing, quote, "huge amounts of Arabs by bus to vote against his right wing party." Today, the White House fires back saying Netanyahu, quote, "Undermine the values and democratic ideals that have been important to our democracy and an important part of what binds the United States and Israel together." Elise Labott begins our coverage OUTFRONT from Jerusalem.</s>ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Judaism holiest site, Benjamin Netanyahu gave a prayer of thanks for his political comeback.</s>BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through a translator): I appreciate the decision by Israel citizens to elect me and my friends against all odds and in the face of powerful forces.</s>LABOTT: His surprising and crushing victory, the product of an 11th hour push for right wing votes promising there will be no Palestinian state on his watch and whipping up fear on Facebook with a warning to the base, get out and vote to prevent Arab parties from unseating him.</s>NETANYAHU: The right regime is in danger. The Arab voters are coming in huge amounts to the polls.</s>LABOTT: But those hard lied statements that saved his job, may only deepen his bad blood with the Obama administration who was privately hoping for his ousters. U.S. officials say they are waiting to see if Netanyahu dials back. If he doesn't, it could be a game changer for both the peace process and U.S.-Israel relations.</s>JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: Certainly the fact that he's changed his position has an impact. I'm not going to pre-judge what we'll do. The election was yesterday, those comments were made two days ago. So, I'm sure we'll continue to discuss.</s>LABOTT: But Netanyahu is unlikely to reverse course.</s>DAVID HOROVITZ, TIMES OF ISRAEL: His essential concern that Israel would draw in territory exposes itself to more danger is something he feels in his heart and he believes that many, probably most Israelis share with him.</s>LABOTT: Republican lawmakers overjoyed at Netanyahu's re- election. Senator Rand Paul tweeting his congratulations and Senator John McCain calling him the comeback kid. After lobbying Congress and the American people against President Obama's policy towards Iran, Netanyahu is likely headed for another showdown with the White House, ahead of the March 31st deadline for a nuclear deal.</s>AARON MILLER WOODROW WILSON CENTER: This prime minister is way too committed on the Iran issue. It's almost messianic for him. And he's going to want to fight. So, there is a real opening there for some continuing tensions over this deal.</s>LABOTT: And Erin, Secretary of State John Kerry did call the prime minister to congratulate him. We're told it was for perfunctory call. Did not ask him about those statements. But what a stunning turnaround, a reversal for Prime Minister Netanyahu. Last night we were talking about the fact that him and Herzog, his leftist opponent might need to share power in a unity government. Today, is a totally different story -- Erin.</s>BURNETT: All right. Elise, thank you very much. And Jim Acosta is at the White House tonight. Jim, you know, you just heard Elise's reporting. And you're getting new information from the White House tonight.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right.</s>BURNETT: Their reaction to Netanyahu's victory. Well, Erin, there's a reaction to Netanyahu's victory and there's also the reaction to what he said. Perhaps to secure that victory you heard in the final hours of this campaign, Benjamin Netanyahu saying that he no longer supports a separate Palestinian state and what I'm hearing from senior administration officials this evening is that the Obama administration may take a new posture on this, that they may want to look at other options when it comes to pursuing a separate Palestinian state because that remains a priority of this administration even if it's not a priority of Benjamin Netanyahu. So, that is one impact that's being felt already. And I'll tell you as Elise were saying in the final hours of the election when the Prime Minister warned Arab voters that to quote, "Arab voters are coming out in droves." That comment also did not go over well here at the White House. And it's worth noting that during the press gaggle on Air Force One today as the off camera briefing, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, he was not asked about Netanyahu's remarks about Arab voters but Earnest volunteered that the White House was deeply concerned that the Lakud Party in other words Netanyahu was using, quote, "divisive rhetoric in the campaign." Earnest was then asked if the President whether the President would raise this issue with Netanyahu in a phone call that two leaders are expected to have in the coming days. Earnest did not want to go there. He did not want to predict what the two leaders would talk about. But he did say that U.S. officials would brace this issue with Israeli leaders. Erin, this just another example of how furious this White House is with this prime minister. It was worth noting this morning on CNN. One of the President's top advisors David Seema said that the White House congratulates the Israeli people for the democratic process. Not congratulates Netanyahu. So, after that big speech that Netanyahu had in front of Congress there's still hard feelings here. The question is whether this relationship can be repaired.</s>BURNETT: All right. Jim Acosta, thank you very much.</s>ACOSTA: You bet.</s>BURNETT: And OUTFRONT now, our special guest, "The New York Times" columnist Tom Friedman. Also, the author of "From Beirut to Jerusalem." All right, Tom, it's great to have you with me. I guess, let's just start with this. We know this tensions has been going on. Right? And there's furious, is the word Jim was using. But I mean, this White House and Benjamin Netanyahu are at deep odds. Does Netanyahu now have the upper hand though with President Obama?</s>THOMAS FRIEDMAN, COLUMNIST, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, I don't know if he's got the upper hand or low hand. When it comes to this issue of I think that when it comes of this issue of a two state solution or not, this is really fundamental. This is really fundamental. This is the foundation of all American diplomacy going back basically since the '67 war. And if there's no two state solution, Erin, it means there's only a one state solution. And what that means if there's only a one state solution, you're either going to have an Israel that's a Jewish state and not a democracy. Or Israel that's not a democracy and not a Jewish state. Because it's going to be absorbing 2.7 million Arabs from the West Bank and is unlikely to want to give them the right to vote. So, this is a huge issue. It's also an issue that could really divide the American Jews community. How many American Jews want to defend a one state solution where basically Palestinians either are not allowed to vote or Israel is no longer much of a Jewish state? So, this is a huge, huge issue.</s>BURNETT: It is. And, you know, as they said, do you want to be an apartheid state or a democracy. The question that they're facing. And it goes right at Tom. The warning yesterday. The Netanyahu in the last moment of the campaign when he was desperate to get off the vote. He said, leftists are bringing, his words, quote, "huge amounts of Arabs by bus" to vote against his party. And he was, you know, trying to rally his base, go out and vote against them. A rival of his as you know noted that that was in there the same thing as an American politician point blank talking about bussing blacks to vote. And the White House obviously was angry about this. You wrote today in your column that Netanyahu, quote, "went for the gutter with a comment like that."</s>FRIEDMAN: Yes. There's no question. What happened here, and again, this was a huge development. Netanyahu shifted the Likud party from a center right party, which it's really been since its founding to a far right party. The votes he gained to win did not come from the Israeli center. They came farther right parties. The actual right coalition did expand in this election. What changed was that Netanyahu, to save himself, took votes from even farther right parties. And now he's saddled with the way he did that, this kind of race baiting. And at the same time with throwing out the window of his election bus the whole notion of a two-state solution. Now, he's not someone who would surprise me would tomorrow, go back on what he said. But this is not a small matter. I would add another thing. The people who are happiest tonight, who are high fiving and toasting themselves with endless Allahu Akbars is the Iranian regime in Tehran. Because Iran's fundamental strategic position is that Israel must always be in the West Bank. Iran wants a one state solution. So, there's a constant grinding between Israeli settlers and Palestinians which delegitimizes Israel in Europe. It keeps the focus away from Iran's own abuse of its own people and its nuclear program and builds tensions between Iran and Israel. So, nothing makes Iran happier than Israel opting for a one state solution.</s>BURNETT: And that's the great irony as you point out. And as we've also said, the backdrop to this election of course is Iran. And specifically the United States nuclear deal with Iran. Right? Which BB so strengthly opposed. You wrote today that the United States has a we can because everyone knows the United States is not going to use force against Tehran. Right? U.S. force in the Middle East recently hasn't worked. You also point out though that America is actually fighting Iran's battles and has been for years. And I wanted to quote the question you asked because I thought it was just so poignantly done. You said, why are we for the third time since 9/11 fighting a war on behalf of Iran? And of course, you're referring to the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So, American money was spent. Trillions of dollars, American lives lost. Removing governments that Iran didn't want. And now the United States is doing it again, fighting against ISIS on the same side as Iran. You raised the question, and it was painful question to raise, but an important one. Maybe ISIS is actually the American ally.</s>FRIEDMAN: Well, the point I'm raising is of course I despise ISIS as much as you do and everybody else, they are horrific organization. But ISIS is the manifestation of Sunni Arab power which Sadam manifested before. Now because we'd have taken out the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and because we deposed Sadam and failed in the effort to build a multi-sectarian party in his wake. And now that we are bombing ISIS we're in effect for the third time taking out the Sunni Arab bull work against Iranian expansion. Obviously I'm not for supporting ISIS. But somewhere we better step back and figure out, how did this all add up? Because Iran as a result of this is not projected its power where it's indirectly controls for Arab capitals, Beirut, Baghdad, Sanaa and Damascus. So, you know, I feel like we're kind of reacting in a knee jerk way without a broader strategic framework to determine what where we're going here.</s>BURNETT: It's interesting that Iran seems to be the winner in all of this as the U.S. and Israel are duking out a very personal battle between allies. Thank you so much to Tom Friedman.</s>FRIEDMAN: Pleasure. Thanks, Erin.</s>BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, the breaking news, we now know what investigators found when they raided real estate hear Robert Durst hotel room. What was he doing with a rubber latex mask at $42,000 in cash? 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