The speech delivered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Congress sparked anger among Democrats representatives in the United States, nearly half of whom boycotted the speech.
The number of Democrats who boycotted Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday was much higher than it was in his previous speech to Congress back in 2015, which then reached 58 Democrats, Axios reported.
Among the Democrats who expressed their dissatisfaction with the speech was Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, who confirmed in a post on X that “Israelis want him out of office. So he came to Congress to campaign.”
Sanders wrote that Netanyahu was not only a “war criminal” but also a “liar”.
He pointed to the humanitarian organizations agreeing that Gaza was facing starvation due to Israeli efforts to block aid into the strip.
The Senator was among dozens of Congressional members who skipped Netanyahu’s address in protest over Israeli aggression in Gaza.
He has sharply criticized the decision to invite Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress. Sanders, a leftist independent, expressed deep disappointment with congressional leaders from both parties for extending the invitation.
“It is a very sad day for our country that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited – by leaders from both parties – to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress,” Sanders stated. “Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend.”
On her part, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at Congress today “by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.”
Pelosi, who met with families of Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip and boycotted the speech, went on to say that the families “are asking for a ceasefire deal that will bring the hostages home.”
As for Progressive Democratic representative, Rashida Tlaib, she did attend Netanyahu’s speech, yet holding a placard that read: “Guilty in Genocide” and one that said: “War Criminal”.
In a post on X, Tlaib expressed her solidarity with the protesters who demonstrated outside Congress, denouncing Netanyahu’s speech.
She once again accused “Israel” of committing genocide in Gaza, vowing that “Palestinians will not be erased.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another Progressive Democratic representative, explained that “Netanyahu has lost so many people that he is addressing just a fraction of Congress.”
“When this happens, they fill the seats with non-members, like what they do at award ceremonies,” she added.
On his part, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to both chambers of Congress Thursday as “fundamentally dishonest”.
“I thought it was fundamentally dishonest,” Nadler said on MSNBC. “He says he wants peace, but his political interest is to keep the war going as long as possible.”
He added that Netanyahu keeps “putting new conditions” on negotiations to release the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
“When he talks about the hostages, I don’t believe he has any interest in releasing the hostages because that would hasten the end of the war.”
“That’s why you see hundreds of thousands of people in Israel protesting against him,” he added.
In early July, health authorities in Gaza revealed that at least 33 children have died from malnutrition, most of whom were displaced in northern areas, which have been subject to relentless Israeli bombardment since October 7.
A group of independent human rights experts, commissioned by the United Nations, reported that the increased number of deaths from malnutrition among children is a sign of hunger spreading across the Gaza Strip.
This comes as nothing Benjamin Netanyahu will say during his address to Congress would change the fact that he was incapable of defeating the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas, Yair Rosenburg wrote in The Atlantic.
Rosenburg maintains in his piece that 15 years ago, Netanyahu promised to defeat Hamas, something he has yet to accomplish.
According to him, while Netanyahu is very effective at making grand announcements, his words usually have minimal effects beyond the brief spectacle he makes delivering them. He recalls Netanyahu’s last speech before Congress in 2015 when he delivered a “masterful piece of political performance” lobbying against Barack Obama’s looming Iran nuclear deal.
Despite the wide political turmoil and media coverage, his address failed to disrupt the nuclear agreement as it went into force in January 2016, when the Republican-controlled Congress failed to assemble the requisite votes to block it.
Rosenburg cites that for over 10 years, Netanyahu has delivered several speeches in “Israel”, the United States, and the UN, in an attempt to bolster his reputation as a leader, yet none of his words have been tied to any real accomplishments.
Rotenburg concludes by calling Netanyahu a “singular salesman for himself,” describing his antics as an illusion of him being a senior “statesman”.
However, this illusion only succeeds because onlookers, especially the press, mistake rhetoric for truth and spectacle for significance, according to Rotenburg.
“What matters are not the words Netanyahu speaks but the actions he ultimately takes. The rest is noise, and—like his address today—can be safely tuned out.”
Source: AlMayadeen
