“Jerusalem must never again be divided,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said today addressing a joint session of Congress again rebuffing President Obama for a second time stating that Israel would never revert to pre 1967 borders between Palestine and Israel.  Vice President Joe Biden didn’t applause, everyone else did.

In fact Netanyahu received 56 standing ovations, sending a clear message to Obama that not only is the Congress with Israel, so are Americans.

So much for Joe and Barack, the latter being in the United Kingdom toasting the Queen after declaring he was Irish in Ireland in a Pub the day before.

Obama made a bone-head comment last week when he said negotiations between Israel and Palestine should revert to pre 1967 borders with mutually agreed upon land swaps.

He was rebuffed in the Oval office by Netanyahu and again today, Obama felt he needed to clarify what he said two days later, but it was not necessary – it came out the same way before AIPAC.  Netanyahu said the lines proposed by Obama would endanger the security of Israel, a claim he again repeated today.

Netanyahu not only got support of the congress and the American people he also got the support of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of all people, who challenged Obama on the border issue at the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC dinner.

“No one should set premature parameters about borders, about building or about anything else,” Reid said.  The reference to building alluded to earlier US demands that Israel renew an expired moratorium on settlement construction.

Netanyahu’s address to Congress marked the first time he has laid out a blueprint for peacemaking.

As usual Obama does a lot of pontificating, but fails to offer proposals for how to return the two sides to the bargaining table.

Asking Israel to negotiate with Hamas, which is what Palestine represents, would be like asking the United States to negotiate with Al Qaeda.

Netanyahu delivered a strong, persuasive speech with a warm welcome by a bipartisan Congress.