Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of U.S. Congress on Wednesday as more than 100 Democratic lawmakers boycotted and antiwar protesters were pepper sprayed and arrested by U.S. Capitol Police outside.
The speech comes as Netanyahu stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor for his country’s bombardment and “collective punishment” of the Gaza Strip over the last ten months.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely 2024 Democratic nominee for president, did not attend the speech, where she normally would have sat right behind Netanyahu, citing a previously scheduled campaign event in Indiana. The next Democrat in line, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, declined to attend, leading to Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Ben Cardin to serve as “senator pro tempore” in place of her. Netanyahu has plans to meet Harris, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump separately later this week.
“This is not a clash of civilizations. It's a clash between barbarism and civilization,” Netanyahu said, to rounds of bipartisan applause. “It's a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life. For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together.”
Netanyahu later called the ICC chief prosecutor’s allegations “utter, complete nonsense” and a “complete fabrication.” He went on to claim that “the war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non combatants casualties in the history of urban warfare.”
More than 39,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, have been killed in retaliation for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups that killed around 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of about 250. Some of the family members of hostages attended the speech on Wednesday.
At various points, security escorted out protesters in the gallery who rose to display T-shirts with slogans demanding that leaders close a deal for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages.
Netanyahu compared the Oct. 7 attack to the Pearl Harbor attacks of 1941 and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying the attack on Israel was like “20 9/11s in one day” based on the number of victims compared to the population of Israel.
The resulting war has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, wounded tens of thousands more and forced roughly two million Gazans into famine, according to experts at the United Nations.
Among the lawmakers who boycotted Netanyahu’s speech was Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., one of the longest-serving Jewish senators in U.S. history. Sanders repeatedly called the Israeli prime minister a “war criminal” this week. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., a Jewish lawmaker who has served in the House for 30 years and is a lifelong supporter of Israel, attended the speech, but called Netanyahu “the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2100 years ago.”
During the address, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and the only Palestinian-American in Congress, sat in the House chamber with a keffiyeh, which she often wears, wrapped over her shoulders. She held up a sign that said “War Criminal” on one side and “Guilty of Genocide” on the other. Tlaib, who has family in the West Bank, was censured last year for her strident criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war.
In his speech, Netanyahu directly spoke to the thousands of protestors outside the U.S. Capitol and those who paralyzed college campuses earlier this year calling for an end of the war, saying they were “Iran’s useful idiots” and claimed Iran, a financial backer of Hamas, was funding antiwar protestors in the U.S. The U.S. director of national intelligence Avril Haines said earlier this month “we have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters,” but provided no evidence and said “Americans who are being targeted by this Iranian campaign may not be aware that they are interacting with or receiving support from a foreign government.”
“Many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers,” Netanyahu said. “They refuse to make the simple distinction between those who target terrorists and those who target civilians between the democratic state of Israel and the terrorist thugs of Hamas.”
He mocked members of the LGBTQ community in the U.S. who express solidarity with the Palestinian people, saying those who “hold up signs proclaiming ‘gays for Gaza,’ they might as well hold up signs saying ‘chickens for KFC.’”
Netanyahu received a warm welcome from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other Republican lawmakers who arranged his speech in the House chamber. “Today and every day, America must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel,” Johnson said shortly before Netanyahu began speaking.
“We help keep American boots off the ground while protecting our shared interests in the Middle East,” Netanyahu said during his speech.
Republicans said the absence of Harris, the new Democratic front-runner for the presidency, was a sign of disloyalty to an ally. Former President Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, was also a no-show for Netanyahu's speech, citing the need to campaign.
The United States is Israel's most important ally, arms supplier and source of military aid. Netanyahu's visit is his first abroad since the war started, and comes under the shadow of arrest warrants sought against him by the ICC over alleged Israel war crimes against Palestinians. The United States does not recognize the ICC.
“I deeply appreciate America's support, including in this current war, but this is an exceptional moment. Fast tracking U.S. military aid can dramatically expedite and help prevent a broader war in the Middle East,” Netanyahu said, pointing to the U.S. support of Great Britain during the early years of World War II. “Today Israel fights on the frontline of civilization. I, too, appeal to America, give us the tools, faster, and will finish the job faster.”
The Biden administration says it wants to see Netanyahu focus his visit on helping it complete a deal for a cease-fire and release of hostages. Growing numbers of Israelis accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the war in order to avoid a likely fall from power whenever the conflict ends.
Netanyahu said his aims for the U.S. visit are to press for freeing hostages held by Hamas and other militants in Gaza, to build support for continuing Israel's battle against the group, and to argue for continuing to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iranian-allied groups in the region.
“When we fight Hezbollah, we're fighting Iran. When we fight the Houthis, we're fighting Iran. And when we fight Iran, we're fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America,” Netanyahu said.
He also called for the “demilitarization and deradicalization” of postwar Gaza, where a civilian Palestinian administration would run the territory while Israel retained “overriding security control… to ensure Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”
That comes in contrast with Biden’s desire for a two-state solution and the creation of a Palestinian state independent of Israeli control.
The Biden administration has been trying to lock in the cease-fire and hostage release plan outlined by the president in May.
Earlier this month, Biden said both Israel and Hamas have agreed to the framework of the multi-stage proposal but emphasized there is still more work to do. On Monday, he pledged to get it done before he leaves office next January and said that “we are on the verge” of a deal.
Netanyahu did not mention a cease-fire specifically in his roughly hour-long address, but said that the war would end if Hamas surrenders, lays down its arms and returns the remaining hostages.
“Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home,” he said. “That’s what total victory means. And we will settle for nothing less.”
Spectrum News’ Maddie Gannon and the Associated Press contributed to this report.