Netanyahu rallies Congress around common enemy Iran and plays presidential politics

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his case to bolster U.S. support for the Jewish state’s war against Hamas, laying out a fresh vision for an anti-Iran alliance and warned about the threat the country poses to both nations during a joint address to Congress on Wednesday.

“If you remember one thing from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory is your victory,” Netanyahu said to a standing ovation in the House chamber. “That victory is in sight. Israel’s defeat of Hamas will be a powerful blow to Iran’s axis of terror.”

The prime minister defended Israel’s military actions, describing the war as a battle between good and evil. He attempted to illustrate how the conflict is part of a larger one between Iran and the United States.

“For Iran, Israel is first, America is next,” he said. “So, when Israel fights Hamas, we’re fighting Iran. When we fight Hezbollah, we’re fighting Iran. When we fight the Houthis, we’re fighting Iran.”

The war began last October when Hamas militants infiltrated southern Israel and murdered some 1,200 people, with an estimated 250 taken captive back to Gaza.

Security escorted out demonstrators in the House gallery wearing T-shirts with slogans demanding that lawmakers seal a ceasefire deal to end the war and free hostages. During part of his speech, Netanyahu accused protesters of the war in the U.S. of standing with those who he said killed babies in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. 

“These protesters that stand with them, they should be ashamed of themselves,” he said, later calling them “Iran’s useful idiots,” a reference to a recent statement from the director of national intelligence that found Iran stoked anti-Israel protests.

About half of House and Senate Democrats skipped Netanyahu’s speech, illustrating progressives’ frustration with how Israel is handling the war, particularly when it comes to the Palestinian civilian death toll. The number of Palestinians killed since the start of the conflict has exceeded 39,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Typically when foreign leaders address Congress, the U.S. vice president serves as the president of the Senate and sits behind the speaker. However, Vice President Kamala Harris, who is poised to become the Democratic presidential nominee, was absent from the rostrum, citing a long-scheduled campaign stop in Indiana. She is expected to meet Thursday with Netanyahu.

Divisions on display

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin (D-MD) presided over the address after both Harris and Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA) declined to attend. Cardin, who is Jewish, said having Netanyahu speaking inside the House chamber “underscores the importance of our relationship.”

“I look at this as an important moment between the United States and Israel and an honor to have the Prime Minister of Israel representing the state of Israel during a joint session of Congress,” Cardin told the Washington Examiner ahead of the speech. “I looked at this as an opportunity where I hope we’ll be able to advance the release of the hostages and the path forward for peace in the Middle East.

The last time Netanyahu addressed Congress in 2015, he also did so at the invitation of a Republican House speaker and in the absence of the Democratic vice president. Then, he used his platform to criticize the Obama administration’s push toward the Iran nuclear deal.

A handful of Netanyahu’s critics were inside the chamber, including Jewish progressive Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who was seen reading a book called The Netanyahu Years.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American in Congress, attended the speech wearing a keffiyeh, an icon of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Nearly halfway through the speech, Tlaib was seen holding up a sign that said “war criminal” on one side and “guilty of genocide” on the other. The prime minister of Israel is no stranger to being at the center of controversy in U.S. politics.

However, Netanyahu was met with roaring applause from Republicans on one side of the room and without much expression from Democrats. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) warned members Tuesday that the House will be operating under a “zero-tolerance policy for disturbances in the building” and said if lawmakers disrupt Netanyahu’s joint address, it could lead to prosecution and possibly arrest. Republicans continue to express support for Netanyahu, slamming Democrats for any criticism of the prime minister and those who decided to boycott the address.

As Netanyahu walked down the aisle shaking hands with lawmakers, he walked by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) quickly, and the New York senator gave him a quick nod. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S. government, called on the prime minister to step down and hold new elections in a speech on the Senate floor in March.

Praise for presidents, and some shade for Biden

Netanyahu’s address comes as eight Americans are still believed to be held hostage by Hamas, in addition to three who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023. A weeklong ceasefire in November 2023 allowed for the release of more than 100 hostages, but another 120 are believed to be still in captivity. Six families of American hostages were in Washington for the prime minister’s speech. Noa Argamani, the freed Israeli hostage, was asked to stand and be recognized. She was embraced by Netanyahu’s wife, Sara.

There were some bipartisan moments in the speech. The Israeli prime minister expressed his gratitude to President Joe Biden for his “tireless efforts on behalf of the hostages and for the hostage families.”

“I thank President Biden for his vital support for Israel after the savage attack on Oct. 7 — he rightly called Hamas sheer evil,” Netanyahu continued. “He came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour, a visit that will never be forgotten.”

He also thanked former President Donald Trump “for his leadership and brokering the historic Abraham Accords.” Netanyahu brought up Trump’s assassination attempt and condemned any form of political violence.

“I also want to thank President Trump for all the things he did for Israel, from recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights to confronting Iran’s aggression to recognizing Jerusalem as our capital and moving the American Embassy there,” Netanyahu added.

However, there were a couple of indirect criticisms of Biden despite the praise earlier in the speech. Netanyahu specifically talked about Israel’s invasion of Rafah, which the Biden administration had spoken out against.

“Some said, ‘If Israel enters Rafah, Palestinian civilians have nowhere to go’, but guess what, we entered and took Rafah, and there was the lowest rate of civilian casualties in the entire Gaza,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu also emphasized the importance of “fast-tracking weapons,” which is a subtle dig after the Biden administration paused some shipments of American weapons to Israel in May over plans to invade Rafah.

“This is an exceptional moment,” Netanyahu said. “Fast-tracking U.S. military aid can dramatically expedite an end to the war in Gaza and help prevent a broader war in the Middle East.”

Netanyahu emphasized the importance of U.S. resources in continuing to confront Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed political movement and militant group that is allied with Hamas in Lebanon and other Iranian-allied groups in the region. Within hours of the October 2023 Hamas attack, fighters from Hezbollah began launching attacks on northern Israel from Lebanon. The conflict has escalated in recent months. Last week, a drone strike claimed by the Houthi rebels in Yemen killed a man in Tel Aviv Israel. The Jewish state launched an airstrike on a Yemeni port under the control of the Houthis.

The Israeli military intercepted a missile fired from Yemen over the weekend after Israel struck several Houthi targets, the first time the Jewish state has responded to repeated Houthi attacks in the nine-month war against Hamas. The conflict threatens to expand as Israel battles a series of Iranian proxies across the region. Israel, alongside the U.S., the United Kingdom, and other allies, has intercepted the majority of the Houthi missiles and drones.

Invoking the words of wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who addressed Congress three times, and who had implored Americans, “Give us the tools and we will finish the job”, Netanyahu declared: “Give us the tools faster and we’ll finish the job faster.”

Mixed reactions and Trump and Biden visits ahead

Some Democrats who support Israel were critical of Netanyahu’s address, portraying it as a Republican effort to cast itself as the party most loyal to Israel.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a key member of the Foreign Relations Committee claimed the speech was “very clearly playing to Trump” and called it a “setback” for U.S.-Israeli relations, speaking with reporters on Wednesday.

Netanyahu’s visit comes as U.S. officials have expressed optimism about the prospect of a deal to return hostages to their families and end the war. Detailed ceasefire negotiations surrounding a framework agreement are now stretching into their third week. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on the phone with Mohammed bin Abdul, the prime minister of Qatar, and discussed the hostage deal negotiations on Wednesday, according to reporting from Axios.

Netanyahu will meet with Biden at the White House on Thursday, where they will also participate in a joint meeting with the families of Americans held hostage by Hamas. Harris will meet separately with Netanyahu the same day, and then he will fly to Florida to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach on Friday.

The Democratic Party advanced an 80-page platform last week before Biden dropped out of the race that touts the Biden administration’s support for Israel despite efforts from a faction of far-left activists who pushed for changes in how the party approaches the Jewish state.

The vice president has been one of the highest-ranking members of the Biden administration to speak out on the scale of the civilian casualties in Gaza, prompting some to believe she could take a harder stance on the war if she were to win the election. Some pro-Israel Democrats do not believe the party’s platform is at risk with a new leader at the top of the ticket.

“I know Vice President Harris well,” Cardin said. “I’ve been with her for foreign policy discussion events, and I think she will be a strong supporter of U.S.-Israel relations and understands the importance is based on values.”

The Israeli prime minister notably did not mention Harris once in his address to Congress.