WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday delivered an impassioned speech to Congress, taking on protesters inside the House chamber and thousands gathered outside the Capitol, while emphasizing that October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel is worse than 9/11.
It was his first address to U.S. lawmakers in nearly a decade and the first since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and resulted in the taking of over 240 hostages to Gaza, where about 100 are still believed to be held captive.
Netanyahu’s speech comes at a critical period: The U.S. is in the middle of a chaotic election year, and the Biden administration continues to push negotiators toward a cease-fire agreement that could end the war in Gaza, where more than 39,000 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
“My friends, I came to assure you today of one thing: We will win,” Netanyahu, standing in the same spot where President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his “Day of Infamy” speech after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
“Like Dec. 7, 1941, and Sept. 11, 2001,” Netanyahu said, “Oct. 7 is a day that will forever live in infamy.”
Later he added: “For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together.”
Netanyahu also directly addressed the protests against his handling of the war in Gaza, both on college campuses this spring and outside the Capitol. “Incredibly, many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers,” he said.
Protests against the war in Gaza, which has killed and maimed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and displaced an estimated 90% of the enclave’s population, have swept the world and the halls of Congress. Roughly 40 Democrats in the House and the Senate boycotted the address, outraged at Netanyahu’s policies and the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as well as the U.S.’s military support for it.
He later accused the protesters in Washington of being funded by Iran, citing U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, who said in a statement this month that the U.S. has “observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters.”
Netanyahu said he had a message for the protesters: “You have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”
Three months after Congress passed a military aid package that included $14 billion for Israel and with the U.S. presidential election around the corner, Netanyahu personally thanked the political leaders of both parties.
He praised President Joe Biden, who he has known for 40 years and who has recently publicly criticized the prime minister’s war strategy. There has also been growing frustration among members of the Biden administration at the stalled cease-fire talks.
“I want to thank you for half a century of friendship to Israel and for being, as he says, ‘a proud Zionist,'” Netanyahu said. “Actually, he says, ‘a proud Irish-American Zionist.'”
Netanyahu also thanked former President Donald Trump, who hopes to return to the White House next year, and said Israelis were relieved that Trump had survived a “dastardly” assassination attempt.
The prime minister devoted some of his address to slamming the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for him and other Israeli leaders for war crimes, an action that drew condemnation from Biden and many in Congress, particularly Republicans.
The Israeli prime minister accused the ICC of libel, saying it is “trying to shackle Israel’s hands and prevent us from defending ourselves. And if Israel’s hands are tied, America is next.”
He disputed the ICC’s claim that Israel has deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians, saying Israel had warned civilians to evacuate before conducting airstrikes.
Netanyahu also pushed back on ICC accusations that Israel had intentionally tried to starve Palestinians in Gaza, saying that Israel not only isn’t blocking aid but that Hamas is stealing it.
In March, Mohamed Nossair, head of operations at the Egyptian Red Crescent, accused Israel of blocking aid: “They limit the number of trucks that can pass,” Nossair said of Israeli officials and soldiers charged with inspecting aid destined for Gaza. “The problem is also they reject these items … that are very essential.”
Oxygen canisters, water filters, metal forks, over-the-counter painkillers and generators were among the items on trucks that Nossair said had been prevented from entering Gaza, which is suffering from an acute humanitarian crisis with most hospitals incapacitated and basic services shattered.
“If I have a truck with rejected items, they reject all the truck,” Nossair said in an interview.
Some families of American hostages attended the speech and had a meeting planned afterward with Netanyahu and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Six American hostage families are in Washington and said they are upset that Netanyahu made the trip rather than staying in Israel trying to get their loved ones home.
The families said they are looking toward a Thursday meeting at the White House with Biden and Netanyahu as a chance for the U.S. to pressure the prime minister to agree to a deal as soon as next week to end the war.
Vice President Kamala Harris is also expected to meet with Netanyahu at the White House this week. And on Friday morning, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
While dozens of liberal Democrats boycotted the remarks, Republicans offered boisterous applause and many Democratic leaders clapped and stood up during various moments of the speech.
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