Ridiculing pro-Palestinian protesters, Netanyahu addresses Congress

By Jacob Kornbluh July 24, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be heading home satisfied. Almost all the seats in the chamber were occupied during his record-breaking fourth address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. He received an estimated 40 standing ovations and loud applause and nobody disrupted the speech. 

Even Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who is loathe to wear anything but his signature hoodie and shorts, honored the occasion with a suit and tie. 

Notably, more than 80 Democrats skipped the speech in protest and a handful of members made sure their opposition to the Israeli leader was noticed. Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, both Democrats, sat emotionless, neither clapping nor standing for applause lines.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and the only Palestinian American member of Congress, did not join her progressive colleagues in boycotting the address, but instead wore her now-signature keffiyeh into the chamber. When Netanyahu decried the protesters, Tlaib, seated between empty chairs, held up a sign that read “war criminal” on one side and “guilty of genocide” on the other.

After Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a Jewish Democrat from Massachusetts, seated near Tlaib, got a glimpse of the signs, he moved toward the end of the row, perhaps to avoid being photographed near them.

Representative Jerry Nadler of New York, the dean of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, held a copy of  “The Netanyahu Years” by Israeli journalist and Netanyahu critic, Ben Caspit.

In his speech, Netanyahu spoke of the deep historical ties between Israel and the U.S., and thanked President Joe Biden for his support following the Oct. 7 attacks. But he also dismissed concerns about Israel’s military campaign and the high number of civilian casualties in Gaza. He said he recently spoke to a commander in Rafah who confirmed to him that “practically none” of the people killed during Israel’s limited operation in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah were civilians. 

He also drew loud applause from Republican members of Congress for condemning the pro-Palestinian protests, and thanked former President Donald Trump for brokering the Abraham Accords and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He called protesters Iran’s “useful idiots.”

But Netanyahu’s mission is far from over. He did not elaborate on a post-war plan for Gaza beyond his broad vision of a demilitarized region not governed by Israel. And while he pledged to do everything in his power to bring home all the hostages, he did not announce he had accepted the terms of the hostage-ceasefire deal that the Biden administration has adopted. Freed hostage Noa Argamani attended the speech and sat in the balcony near Netanyahu’s wife, Sara.

Outside of the Capitol, pro-Palestinian thousands protested against the war and decried Congress for giving such an august platform to Netanyahu. In a separate protest, Israeli and American Jews implored the prime minister to cut a deal to bring the hostages home.

A big speech, amid big distractions

Netanyahu had hoped to seize the moment, being given the unique honor of addressing a joint Congress for the fourth time in his political career and to shift U.S. public opinion about the ongoing war in Gaza. His goal was to turn the tide of international sentiment in Israel’s favor by reminding the world of the Oct. 7 attacks and emphasizing the joint struggle against global terrorism.

The political landscape in Washington, D.C., however, was anything but accommodating. And the lead-up to his address had been fraught with setbacks.

As Netanyahu put the final touches on his speech, the American public was preoccupied with the dramatic twists of the presidential race: the campaign kickoff by Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. 

Coupled with his unpopularity, Netanyahu found himself almost forcing the Americans to pay attention to him. 

The upcoming meeting with President Biden, Netanyahu’s first in the Oval Office since returning to power in December 2022, had been delayed twice and was rescheduled to Thursday, allowing for the president to recover from a bout with COVID. Further complicating matters, Harris was not presiding over Netanyahu’s speech, as is customary, due to a scheduling conflict. Although she is set to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday, the optics of her absence from the address underscored the limited support Netanyahu could expect from the current administration and possibly the next. 

Netanyahu also sought a meeting with former President Donald Trump. While Trump agreed to turn the page after a three-year feud, Netanyahu will be forced to travel to Florida on Friday for a few hours, delaying his return to Israel until after Shabbat.