A senior House Democrat contradicted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adopted a “condescending” tone during his speech before a joint meeting of Congress.

“I disagree with the House Democratic Leader, whom I hold in high regard. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech was not condescending,” said Representative Brad Sherman, a Democrat from Pelosi’s home state of California who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Every speech contains passages which remind the audience of facts they already know, and conclusions with which they already agree. That is not condescension; that is oratory. The Prime Minister’s speech did contain some new insight that Congress should carefully consider, though it did not contain a clear roadmap of to how to force Iran to accept a reasonable deal.”

Sherman was responding to a statement in which Pelosi affirmed the “unshakeable” bond between the United States and Israel before criticizing Netanyahu following his speech.

“I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister’s speech – saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States as part of the P5 +1 nations, and saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation,” she said.