A day after The Jerusalem Post revealed he had called for a boycott of American Independence Day celebrations Wednesday night at US Ambassador James Cunningham's beachside Herzliya Pituah residence, MK and World Likud chairman Danny Danon expressed satisfaction that ministers and MKs alike were forced to think twice about their attendance.
While according to Danon some MKs did stay away from the event, attendees included Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Minister-without-Portfolio Bennie Begin, Education Minister Gidon Sa'ar and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon.
Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, who has been a frequent critic of the United States in speeches in the Knesset plenum, decided not to attend, but his spokeswoman said he had not attended last year either. At least one other Likud minister reportedly assured Danon that he too would not be in attendance - and, in fact, the minister was nowhere to be seen at the event.
An associate of Netanyahu said he did not feel there was any problem attending the event because "despite whatever pressure from the US there might be, America is still Israel's closest friend."
Netanyahu's adviser Ron Dermer, who wrote the prime minister's speech, came to the ambassador's residence for the first time since he relinquished his American citizenship in order to accept his senior position in the Netanyahu administration.
