THREE KEY MOMENTS FROM NETANYAHU’S SPEECH TO CONGRESS

By Jake

28 July 2024

Netanyahu addresses the US Congress on July 24, 2024, wearing the yellow ribbon symbolizing the effort to get hostages held by Hamas home. (Credit to FOX on YouTube)

39 rounds of applause and 23 standing ovations was the greeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received before the United States Congress earlier this week. In a 40-minute speech, Netanyahu addressed the policy decisions and controversies the ONE server has been discussing for the last nine months, defending Israel’s decisions and thanking those in the US government who had been sending support. He thanked both President Biden and former President Trump, who he also visited in Mar-A-Lago later in the week. I’d like to break down three quotes from the speech and project how future months of decision-making under Netanyahu will look. Here’s the text of the speech.

1. Aid to Gaza from Israel

   1. Netanyahu: “The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has shamefully accused Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza. This is utter complete nonsense. It's a complete fabrication. Israel has enabled more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza. That's half a million tons of food, and that's more than 3,000 calories for every man, woman and child in Gaza. If there are Palestinians in Gaza who aren't getting enough food, it's not because Israel is blocking it, it's because Hamas is stealing it.”

   2. This certainly seems to match with the 600 trucks needed daily cited by many. Unfortunately, Netanyahu is skipping the vital middle steps between aid crossing the border and reaching people’s plates. Independent experts have recounted the failures of distribution, with aid piled on the Gaza side of the border and starving families farther in the interior. Bombings and displacements make distribution impossible. Approved nonprofits assisting with aid report lack of cooperation with the IDF, all while the targeted World Central Kitchen bombings hang over their heads. The ICC will need more to prove deliberate use of starvation, but in discounting the statistics Netanyahu sidesteps the accusation rather than countering it.

2. Tokenism of IDF soldiers

   1. Netanyahu: “With us today is Lieutenant Avichail Reuven. Avichail is an officer in the Israeli paratroopers. His family immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia. In the early hours of October 7th, Avichail heard the news of Hamas' bloody rampage. He put on his uniform, grabbed his rifle, but he didn't have a car. So he ran eight miles to the frontlines of Gaza to defend his people. You heard that right. He ran eight miles, came to the frontlines, killed many terrorists and saved many, many lives. Avichail, we all honor your remarkable heroism. Another Israeli is with us here today. He's standing right next to Avichail. This is Master Sergeant Ashraf al Bahiri. Ashraf is a Bedouin soldier from the Israeli Muslim community of Rahat. On October 7th, Ashraf too killed many terrorists. First, he defended his comrades in the military base, and he then rushed to defend the neighboring communities, including the devastated community of Kibbutz Be'eri.”

   2. This attempt at identity politics falls flat, as the ethnicity of IDF soldiers is nowhere near as important as their actions and accountability in this war. For Netanyahu to fly a racially-diverse example of troops halfway around the world shows how appearances and the approval of the West has become an ideological front of the war. Heroes who protect innocents deserve recognition and honors in all respects, and Lt. Reuven and Sg. al Bahiri are heroes. Heroes’ stories must not be used to perpetuate or justify the killing of civilians. 

3. Post-War Plans

   1. Netanyahu: “The day after we defeat Hamas, a new Gaza can emerge. My vision for that day is of a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza. Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza. But for the foreseeable future, we must retain overriding security control there to prevent the resurgence of terror, to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel. Gaza should have a civilian administration run by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel. That's not too much to ask. It's a fundamental thing that we have a right to demand and to receive.”

   2. Hints at a long-term plan were what I was looking for in the speech, and I’m glad it wasn’t ignored. Before the speech, a signed letter to the US Congress from former IDF and Knesset officials called Netanyahu the largest obstacle to peace because he had no long-term strategy. I agree that a Gaza ruled by Hamas can never occur again if the region wants peace, but this also undermines the possibility of a hostage or ceasefire deal. How can two sides that want the other taken out of power negotiate about the end of the war? I also hope that US diplomats will hold Netanyahu to that statement about settlements, but he has broken promises regarding that topic before with little repercussions.

My greatest fear is that this conflict becomes a forever war, fading into the background as families continue to suffer and our shared heritage in the region is destroyed. Those who profit from war and power would continue to profit. I’ll reiterate my hope that Sinwar and Netanyahu share a jail cell after this is over, but the practical reality of US backing makes that a long shot. With the US election looming, many expect changes in US foreign policy. But how many more will suffer and die before then? Grassroots conversation is needed now, to guide our votes, speech, and education towards a brighter future.

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