September 7, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “total victory” against Hamas on Wednesday in a speech to Congress boycotted by dozens of Democratic lawmakers.
Netanyahu’s speech offered no sign that his visit to the United States — his first trip abroad since the war started — could bring some progress in months of U.S.-led mediation for a cease-fire and hostage release, as the Biden administration has hoped.
Speaking for nearly an hour to frequent applause from U.S. lawmakers, as well as stony silence from many leading Democrats in the chamber, Netanyahu said the U.S. has a shared interest in his country's fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups.
“America and Israel must stand together. When we stand together something really simple happens: We win, they lose," said Netanyahu, who wore a yellow pin expressing solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
But the Israeli leader soon pivoted to a darker tone as he derided those protesting the war on college campuses and elsewhere in the U.S., gesturing to demonstrations happening on the streets outside the Capitol. He called protesters “useful idiots” for Israel’s adversaries.
Some hostages freed from Gaza and families of those still in captivity listened in the House chamber. Security removed protesters in the gallery who rose to display T-shirts with slogans demanding an end to the war and the freeing of remaining hostages.
Netanyahu made little or no mention of efforts by the United States and Arab allies to negotiate an end to the fighting and a release of surviving hostages seized by Hamas-led militants in the Oct. 7 attack that started the war. He accused the numerous protesters of the war in the United States of standing with the militants who he said killed babies in Hamas' attack on Oct. 7.
“These protesters that stand with them, they should be ashamed of themselves," he said.
Netanyahu started his remarks with praise of President Joe Biden. But he turned to lavishing praise on former president and current presidential contender Donald Trump “for all he’s done for Israel.”
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Biden and Harris on Thursday, and with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
Tall steel barriers ringed the Capitol Wednesday, and police deployed pepper spray as thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied.
The appearance made Netanyahu the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of Congress four times, surpassing Winston Churchill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson gave Netanyahu a warm welcome. More than 60 Democrats and political independent Bernie Sanders boycotted Netanyahu's speech. The most notable absence was right behind him: Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as president of the Senate, said a long-scheduled trip kept her from attending.
The next Democrat in line, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, declined to attend, so Sen. Ben Cardin, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, served as “senator pro tempore” in her place.
