Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke passionately to Congress on Wednesday, addressing thousands of demonstrators outside the Capitol and inside the House chamber, all the while highlighting the significance of the connection between the United States and Israel.
It was his first speech to Congress in almost ten years and the first since Hamas’ terrorist onslaught on Israel on October 7, which claimed 1,200 lives and resulted in the capture of over 240 hostages in Gaza, where it is thought that approximately 100 of them are still being kept captive.
The timing of Netanyahu’s speech is crucial: the United States is in the midst of a contentious election year, and the Biden administration is still pressuring negotiators to reach a cease-fire agreement that would put an end to the conflict in Gaza, which has claimed more than 39,000 lives, according to the Ministry of Health, which is run by Hamas.
Netanyahu said, “My companions, I came here to tell you one thing: We are going to prevail,” standing in the same location as President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he gave his “Day of Infamy” speech in the wake of 9/11.
“Like Dec. 7, 1941, and Sept. 11, 2001,” Netanyahu stated, “Oct. 7 is a day that will forever live in infamy.”
Afterwards he stated: “America and Israel must unite if the forces of civilization are to prevail.”
In addition, Netanyahu responded directly to the demonstrations against his management of the Gaza conflict that took place last spring outside the Capitol and on college campuses. Remarkably, a large number of anti-Israel demonstrators opt to align themselves with evil. They support Hamas. They support murderers and rapists,” he remarked.Protests against the war in Gaza, which has engulfed the world and the halls of Congress, have left tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians dead or injured and 90% of the enclave’s population displaced. Because they were incensed about Netanyahu’s actions, the escalating humanitarian disaster in Gaza, and the United States’ military support for it, some 40 Democrats in the House and Senate abstained from the speech.
“He is an offender of war!” Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leftist, told NBC News.
The U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, stated in a statement this month that the U.S. has “seen officials connected to Iran’s government pretending to be activists on the internet, trying to incite demonstrations, and even giving them financial support.” He later accused the demonstrators in Washington of receiving funding from Iran.
To the demonstrators, Netanyahu declared, “You have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”
With the U.S. presidential election just three months away and Congress having just approved a $14 billion military aid package for Israel, Netanyahu personally congratulated the leaders of both parties.
He praised his 40-year friend and President Joe Biden, who recently publicly questioned the prime minister’s war strategy. Members of the Biden administration have also been increasingly irritated with the ongoing cease-fire negotiations.
“I would like to express my gratitude for your fifty years of friendship with Israel and for being, in his words, ‘a proud Zionist”” Netanyahu stated. “Actually, he says, ‘a proud Irish-American Zionist.'”
In addition, Netanyahu expressed gratitude to former President Donald Trump, who is expected to run for office again in 2019. He also stated that Israelis were happy that Trump had escaped a “dastardly” attempt on his life.
During part of his speech, the prime minister attacked the International Criminal Court, which had issued an arrest warrant for him and other Israeli leaders on charges of war crimes. Biden and many members of Congress, especially Republicans, had denounced this action.
Claiming that the ICC is “trying to shackle Israel’s hands and prevent us from defending ourselves,” the Israeli prime minister accused the body of libel. And America is next if Israel’s options are limited.”
He refuted the International Criminal Court’s assertion that Israel had intentionally targeted Palestinian people, stating that Israel had given warnings to evacuate before launching airstrikes. But according to an April NBC News investigation, Palestinians were slain in southern Gaza in places that the Israeli military had specifically declared safe zones. The GPS coordinates of the attacks were collated by NBC News crews, and all of them struck an area designated as an evacuation zone by the Israeli military in an online interactive map released on December 1.
In response to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) allegations that Israel deliberately attempted to starve Palestinians in Gaza, Netanyahu asserted that not only is Israel not obstructing aid, but Hamas is actually taking it.
The Egyptian Red Crescent’s chief of operations, Mohamed Nossair, charged in March that Israel was obstructing aid: Regarding Israeli authorities and soldiers tasked with vetting aid headed for Gaza, Nossair said, “They limit the number of trucks that can pass.” “The issue is that these things, which are really necessary, are also rejected by them.”
Nossair stated that trucks carrying generators, oxygen canisters, water filters, metal forks, over-the-counter medications, and other supplies had been stopped from entering Gaza, which is experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis with most hospitals closed and essential services destroyed.
“They reject the entire truck if I have items in it that are rejected,” Nossair stated in an NBC News interview.
Following the address, the relatives of American captives scheduled a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Netanyahu. Six American families who are hostages in Washington have expressed their displeasure that Netanyahu traveled there instead of remaining in Israel and attempting to get their loved ones home.
The families expressed their expectation that the U.S. would exert pressure on Netanyahu to accept a settlement to end the war as soon as next week during their meeting with him and Biden at the White House on Thursday.
This week, Vice President Kamala Harris and Netanyahu are anticipated to meet at the White House. Additionally, Trump and Netanyahu are expected to meet on Friday morning at Mar-a-Lago, the latter’s Palm Beach, Florida estate.
Boycotts, demonstrations, and a few arrests by Democrats
The first female Palestinian member of Congress, progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., interrupted Netanyahu’s speech by brandishing a little black-and-white sign that said, “War criminal” and “Guilty of genocide.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and a House security official seemed to attempt to persuade Tlaib to remove her sign at one point. However, she brought it up repeatedly during her address.
Additionally, three persons wearing yellow T-shirts with the words “SEAL THE DEAL NOW,” which is probably a reference to a cease-fire deal, were led out of the chamber by Capitol Police. They were taken away and placed in zip-tie cuffs. Six members of the chamber were detained, according to the police.Protesters were attacked with pepper spray by Capitol Police outside. In preparation for Tuesday’s protests, the department had installed the same perimeter fencing around the Capitol that was in place following the attack on January 6, 2021.
Usually, the president extends formal invitations to foreign dignitaries to speak before Congress. In this instance, however, Johnson started openly advocating in March for Netanyahu to address Congress in the midst of pro-Palestinian demonstrations and springtime campouts on college campuses.
Months before the election in November, the invitation demonstrated the Republican Party’s backing of Israel and further strained ties amongst Democrats who have differed on Netanyahu’s leadership of the Gaza War.
Later, Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer of New York, the top-ranking American Jew in Washington who had demanded fresh elections to unseat Netanyahu, sent out the official invitation.
Harris did not attend the speech, despite the fact that he would typically preside over it as the Senate’s president. Neither did a number of other well-known Democrats, such as the second-ranking Senate Majority Whip, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. Instead, the speech was given by retiring Foreign Relations Committee chairman and Orthodox Jew Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.
Following Biden’s withdrawal from the race, Harris launched her presidential campaign on Wednesday and visited Indianapolis.
Johnson declared on Tuesday that Harris should be “held accountable” for missing Netanyahu’s speech, calling it “inexcusable.” Republicans in both houses agreed with that critique, albeit they did not find it acceptable that Sen. JD Vance had missed the address.
Ohio congressman Vance missed Netanyahu’s speech because, according to a statement from senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller, “he has duties to fulfill as the Republican nominee for Vice President.”Republicans in Congress welcomed Netanyahu with open arms, but Democrats were less enthusiastic. Some boycotted his speech because they were angry about how he handled the war and thought his speech months before of the election was inappropriate and politicized.
Pelosi “will participate in a Members’ meeting with Israeli citizens whose families have suffered as a result of the kidnappings and terror attack by Hamas on October 7,” her spokeswoman Ian Krager said in a statement, in place of the address.
Prominent Democrats who refrained from attending the speech included Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, and Rep. James Clyburn, a prominent member of the Black Caucus from South Carolina. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., the first member of Generation Z in Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a member of the “squad,” and several Jewish members of Congress, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, also skipped the speech.
In a statement, Durbin said, “Hamas’s continued holding of hostages is unconscionable. The organization’s October 7 attack was unprovoked and cowardly.” But Prime Minister Netanyahu’s method of carrying out Israel’s war in Gaza, which has resulted in 39,000 Palestinian deaths and 90,000 injuries, is an unconscionably cruel tactic that goes beyond any reasonable measure of self-defense. At tomorrow’s Joint Session, I will support Israel, but I will not rise and applaud its present prime minister.
Notably, the Senate’s president pro tempore, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., was not present either. “Achieving a sustainable, reciprocal ceasefire is critically important at this time, and I will persist in advocating for its timely resolution,” Murray stated in a press release.
The only other Republican representative to declare he would not attend the speech was Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who wrote on X that “Israel’s goal in having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell international opposition to his war.”
He declared, “I won’t be attending because I don’t feel like being a prop.”
Held in private, Netanyahu’s speech was attended by the leaders of the opposition parties in each house: Johnson, Senate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; and Senate Minority Leader Schumer.
Schumer declared, “I will attend the speech even though I disagree with many of Bibi Netanyahu’s policies because the United States and Israel have an unbreakable relationship that goes beyond any prime minister or president and we must do everything in our power to free our hostages.”
But there was a noticeable lack of handshake between Netanyahu and Schumer as they made their way down the middle aisle and into the chamber. Instead, Schumer nodded with folded hands.
An enthusiastic friend of Israel, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., expressed his desire to hear from Netanyahu regarding his strategy for freeing the captives and his approach to dealing with Iran.
Only a few Jewish House Democrats, including Moskowitz, sat in the same row and cheered along with several of Netanyahu’s remarks. Representatives Brad Schneider of Illinois, Kathy Manning of North Carolina, Dan Goldman of New York, and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey were among them.
Elon Musk, a tech entrepreneur, was present at the speech and claimed to be Netanyahu’s guest. Nestled behind his spouse, Sarah Netanyahu, Musk was seated in the prime minister’s area situated above the House floor.
The fourth speech given by Netanyahu as prime minister
Netanyahu gave his fourth speech to Congress on Wednesday, more than any other foreign leader in history. The renowned British prime minister Winston Churchill spoke to Congress three times.
When Netanyahu addressed Congress last, in March 2015, the political climate was similar. Without first contacting President Barack Obama, Ohio Republican Speaker John Boehner had invited Netanyahu to address Congress about Iranian dangers. It was denounced by the White House as a diplomatic protocol violation.
Representative Greg Meeks of New York, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, described Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday as being “somewhat similar” to his speech from 2015. “It seemed to be political in nature; Boehner appeared to be attempting to exert influence. Back then, it was election season.”
The United States Capitol Police issued a warning prior to the speech that it would attract “a large number of demonstrators.”
Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry posted a video of the swearing-in on X, claiming that the Capitol Police had sworn in over 200 New York police officers to help this week in Washington and had increased security measures in place for possible protests.
Pepper spray was deployed by police on Wednesday to break up large groups of demonstrators outside the Capitol. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, obstruction led to the arrest of at least five persons.
Capitol Police said that more than 200 Jewish Voice for Peace demonstrators were taken into custody on Tuesday after they staged a demonstration in front of one of the House office buildings and yelled pro-Palestinian slogans.
More than two dozen former high-ranking employees of Israel’s security apparatus, including the Shin Bet and Mossad, as well as Israeli corporations, expressed disapproval of Netanyahu’s appearance before Congress. NBC News was able to get a letter sent by congressional leaders expressing their “grave concerns” about the “damage” that Netanyahu’s visit would cause to the shared goals of the United States and Israel. Among those who signed the letter include former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Dan Halutz, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, and former Mossad director Tamir Pardo, a few of whom were employed by Netanyahu.
Behind closed doors, the Biden administration has been attempting to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Last Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave a somewhat hopeful indication when he stated that the negotiators were “driving toward the goal line.”