Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address to a joint session of Congress in July 2024. (Credit: AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, resulting in mixed reactions from onlookers, politicians, activists, and journalists.
While Netanyahu was addressing Congress, mass protests in Washington DC demanded an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and called Netanyahu a “war criminal,” referencing the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to seek an arrest warrant for him for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to U.S. police, five people were arrested inside the Capitol building for attempting to disrupt Netanyahu's address.
Meanwhile, inside Congress, members of the Democrat party boycotted his speech. Members who are opposed to Netanyahu expressed their disapproval in different ways,
One hundred and twelve out of 212 House Representatives boycotted Netanyahu's speech in Congress, while 24 out of 100 senators did not attend.
Congressman Jerrold Nadler, a long-serving Jewish Democrat and supporter of Israel, sarcastically ignored Netanyahu’s speech while reading a book titled ‘The Netanyahu Years.’
The book, one of the most critical biographies about Netanyahu, focuses on his last two years, out of four, in office.
Some epic trolling by @RepJerryNadler reading this book during the @IsraeliPM's speech today. The book by @BenCaspit is one of the most critical biographies written about the PM. "Netanyahu is a saga of missed opportunities." Couldn't agree more. https://t.co/rwZK715Qgw
— Kevin Rachlin (@sikevin99) July 24, 2024
Nadler has repeatedly said that Netanyahu is not doing enough to bring the Israeli hostages home, while also repeatedly “calling for more humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza.”
However, some U.S. Congress representatives, most notably Republicans, met Netanyahu with a standing ovation that lasted for one minute and cheered him on as he stood up to begin his speech.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib did not boycott the speech, however, she sat tear-eyed, wearing a keffiyeh, with a Palestinian flag pinned to her jacket, and holding up a sign that read: ‘War Criminal’ from one side and ‘Guilty of Genocide’ on the other.
I will never back down in speaking truth to power.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) July 24, 2024
The apartheid government of Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. Palestinians will not be erased. Solidarity with all those outside of these walls in the streets protesting and exercising their right to dissent. pic.twitter.com/TSbbXdv13U
One day before Netanyahu was set to speak, Tlaib wrote on X: “Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court.”
Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) July 23, 2024
“Rashida Tlaib continues to be an absolute disgrace,” U.S. Republican Senator, Thom Tillis tweeted after.
Nancy Pelosi, former House speaker, skipped the event, opting instead “to meet with Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas,” attack, a Pelosi spokesperson told Axios.
On Oct.7, Hamas killed around 1,200 Israelis and took 240 others hostages in an attempt to exchange them “with over 1,000 Palestinian oppressed prisoners abandoned in Israeli prisons,” Hamas had said.
“Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber today was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States,” Pelosi wrote on X after the speech.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber today was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 24, 2024
Many of us who love Israel spent time today listening to Israeli…
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on X: "Netanyahu is not only a war criminal. He is a liar. All humanitarian organizations agree: Tens of thousands of children face starvation because his extremist government continues to block aid. Israelis want him out of office. So he came to Congress to campaign."
Member of the Israeli Knesset, and opposition leader Yair Lapid, accused Netanyahu of missing an opportunity to help the hostages during his address.
“What about the hostages? What did you say about [them] besides empty words?” Lapid said in a public video.
“Netanyahu had an opportunity to say he accepts the deal and will bring home the hostages before they all die in the tunnels. He didn’t do that.”
For its part, Hamas said Wednesday that Netanyahu was "misleading" the international community.
"Netanyahu's talk about intensified efforts to return the hostages is a complete lie and misleading Israeli, American and international public opinion, while he is the one who thwarted all efforts aimed at ending the war and concluding a deal to release the prisoners, despite the continuous efforts of mediators from our brothers in Egypt and Qatar," the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.
On Wednesday, an Israeli delegation canceled its scheduled trip to Qatar to negotiate a cease-fire and a hostage deal, pending the discussions between Netanyahu and Biden. The meeting was postponed until next week.
'Welcoming an executioner'
Iran — which had hailed the October 7 attack but said it was not involved in it — denounced on Thursday the U.S. government and Congress for welcoming Netanyahu amid the deadly war in Gaza that has been raging for nearly 10 months.
"Palestinian children are slaughtered every day by the Tel Aviv butcher, and in the face of all these crimes, the American government and Congress are welcoming this executioner with applause," said Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanani in a post on X.
"The criminal prime minister of a fake regime is embraced by his supporters after nine months of genocide and infanticide," he added, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister.
The remarks came after Netanyahu's speech, which called for an alliance against what he described as an Iranian "axis of terror," claiming Tehran is behind almost all killings in the Middle East.
"America and Israel today can forge a security alliance in the Middle East to counter the growing Iranian threat," Netanyahu suggested in his speech.
US and Israeli media react to Netanyahu's address
Prominent U.S. and Israeli media have reacted differently to Netanyahu's address to Congress.
An analysis piece by the Israeli left-wing newspaper, Haaretz, stated that Netanyahu was "winning in speeches but losing in war," noting that after almost 10 months of war, not all of the Israeli hostages have been freed yet.
Similarly, The Times of Israel noted that the country's standing in American public opinion has been shaky, citing Gallup polls from 2023-2024. They added that while "Netanyahu had the chance to reset the US-Israel relationship and restore confidence among Democrats and American Jews...instead, he delivered a speech that is unlikely to transcend the divides."
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board wrote a piece criticizing congress representatives who boycotted the speech.
"When an ally is at war, the least its leader deserves is a hearing...Had they listened, they might have learned why Israel fights," WSJ defended noting that Netanyahu explained that "more than 40,000 aid trucks entered Gaza. That’s half-a-million tons of food," the WSJ cited Netanyahu claims.
However, the UN has recently declared that "famine has spread throughout the Gaza strip," as Israel continues to obstruct aid from reaching the besieged strip.
One of the New York Times's editorial board journalists expressed a similar sentiment in his speech: "So while Netanyahu demonstrated that he could still do a rousing stump speech, it was far less clear whether it would do much to bolster his or Israel’s fortunes."
American news outlet, ABC News, published a piece fact-checking Netanyahu's speech. It namely proved false Netanyahu's claims that Israel hasn't restricted humanitarian aid to Gaza, the pro-Palestinian protests are Iran-funded and the ratio of civilians to combatants killed in Gaza is the lowest in history.
In a more humorous yet critical manner, renowned Egyptian political satirist Bassem Youssef posted a video of Netanyahu stopping the Congress representatives from applauding while he was speaking so he could continue. Youssef captioned the video, "Don't applaud, bitches. I own your asses. I will tell you when you can."
The health ministry in Gaza said Thursday at least 39,175 people have been killed in more than nine months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants. The toll includes 30 deaths in 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 90,403 people as having been wounded in the strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7.