Netanyahu Delivers Remarks to the US Congress

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JUL 23 2024

Above: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives at the US Capitol on July 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Kent Nishimura/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Imagesstory last updated JUL 25 2024

The Facts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday as part of his visit to the US aimed at reinforcing American support for Israel amid the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu emphasized the Israeli military's resolve to win the conflict, saying the country will continue to wage war until Hamas is destroyed and the hostages returned. He also called on American lawmakers to fast-track military aid to Israel, dismissing accusations of genocide as "outrageous slanders."
Netanyahu repeatedly compared Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that killed 1.2K people in Israel and resulted in more than 200 hostages being taken into Gaza to both the 9/11 attacks and Pearl Harbor, framing the war as a civilizational conflict. Gaza's health ministry has reported that over 39K Palestinians have been killed since the war began.

The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

This visit is largely useless and should have been canceled before it began. While this visit was scheduled when the war in Gaza was front page news in the US, recent domestic events like the assassination attempt on Trump and Biden stepping down from his re-election campaign have overshadowed international news as well as this visit. Though the purpose of this visit may have been to bring attention and support to Israel, the opposite likely occurred, with boycotts against his speech happening in Congress, anger from the families of Israeli hostages about Netanyahu's departure from Israel, and large protests taking place in the Capitol and beyond.

Slate

Pro-establishment narrative

This congressional address was a strong symbol of American support and longtime alliance with Israel. Netanyahu's invitation is a sign of bipartisan unity amidst political differences, even despite the boycotts that occurred within Congress. Even though some US lawmakers may disagree with the policies of Netanyahu, his speech, and the response by American politicians emphasizes that this partnership is ironclad, and the US and Israel are unified in their goal of bringing home the hostages. This was a bipartisan show of support for the US' crucial ally.

CBS