“Netanyahu took preventive measures,” I was told Aug. 9 by one of the people closest to the Israeli prime minister on condition of anonymity. I asked what he meant by that. “Bibi realized that President Obama was going to appeal to American Jewry above his head,” the source explained, “so he rushed to beat the president and lecture to thousands of Jewish activists,” during a Aug. 4 webcast organized by Jewish groups in North America.

This is how the prime minister’s friend summarized the dueling speeches delivered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, and how he described the mood that prevails in the immediate vicinity of Israel’s prime minister. Netanyahu is going for broke in his confrontations with the US president. The prime minister uses intelligence provided by his extensive Jewish-American contacts to anticipate the president’s next moves and prepare competing answers. Obama intends to invite prominent Jewish leaders in America for a talk? Then I’ll speak live via the Internet to thousands, maybe tens of thousands of American Jewish activists.

There’s something else going on here, however, something deeper and latent in the way people around Netanyahu use the expression “above Netanyahu’s head” when they talk about American Jewry. In saying “Obama is poised to talk to American Jewry above Netanyahu’s head,” the starting assumption is that American Jewry are, in fact, in Netanyahu’s area of jurisdiction. They are presumed to reside in his domain, and anyone who appeals to them without prior notification or authorization does so “above the head” of the responsible adult, Netanyahu. The reality, of course, is quite different.

"Why do you say 'above his head?'” I asked Netanyahu’s associate, pointing out that American Jews are US citizens. Their duty is to be loyal to the United States of America, not to Netanyahu or Israel. Yes, they can support Israel and help Israel in America, but they cannot prefer Israel over their native country. Their president is Obama, not Bibi. Remember Jonathan Pollard, the convicted American spy for Israel.