Washington: Netanyahu received a standing ovation at the U
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the guest of honour at the joint session of the Congress today, with many of the Congressmen supporting Netanyahu standing and clapping loudly. Nevertheless, the event was followed by the exclusion of dozens of lawmakers who boycotted the speech in response to Israel’s attack on Hamas in Gaza. NPR congressional reporter Barbara Sprunt was at the speech, and she gave details about the mood throughout the speech and other highlights of the speech.
That chamber was mainly populated with Netanyahu’s allies, so several lawmakers boycotted the event. VP Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden’s right-hand person and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer were present, among others. However, Schumer did not even bother to greet Netanyahu with a simple handshake. Netanyahu’s speech took about an hour, and many times during his speech, there was loud applause and even standing ovations from both Republicans and Democrats. However, the affair was calm, and there were only some manifestations of hostility: Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan wrote ‘’war criminal’’ on the paper, and several capitol police detained people for crying out in the gallery.
Netanyahu’s address was about entrenching the relations of the United States of America with Israel and asking for further support while receiving criticism over his approach to the war. He expressed his appreciation to President Joe Biden and the past President Donald Trump, noting that a special bondage ties the U.S. and Israel since it is one of the few countries that are democracies in the Middle East.
To restore order and defeat the enemy, America and Israel must be united, Netanyahu said, as both sides of the Congress applauded.
He pointed to the events of the October 7 Hamas attack. The anti-Israel protesters Netanyahu scoffed at and said they were supporting Hamas, a comment that Rise received loud cheers from the Republican side but barely a din from the Democrats.
This speech also focused on the remaining 120 hostages in Gaza, some of whose relatives were in the hall. He promised to exert all his energy to ensure they returned home despite not pinning down how he would accomplish that. There are assertions from Israeli officials that negotiations will continue once Netanyahu is done meeting with President Biden and other U.S. officials.
Beyond the parliament’s walls, thousands of demonstrators expressed their disapproval of Netanyahu’s policy and called for a cease-fire and for the end to the suffering of the people of Gaza. Inside, Rep. Rashida Tlaib choked back tears, and she was holding a sign that said ‘ FREE SILWAAN, WAR CRIMINAL NETANYAHU. ’
The PM’s visit comes at the very right time, as there is increasing friction between Israel and the United States of America. Biden’s administration is expected to use the visit to bring about a cessation of the conflict and hostages. As for Netanyahu, he hopes to strengthen the support of America’s administration in the operations against Hamas and other Iran-supported organizations.
The visit also raised various exercises of the USA-Israel relations, especially during this period as the U.S. is approaching its presidential elections. In 2015, Netanyahu spoke against then-President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, and his prior speech is still fresh in many lawmakers’ memories. This history, alongside the current political instabilities, for example, recent accusations levelled against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court, makes his current visit even more complicated.
Thus, Netanyahu’s speech to Congress reflected on the strong and symbiotic partnership between the U.S. and Israel alongside the conflicts and critical issues the two nations face at home and in the world. It also presented an affirming and ferocious unrest, as the views on the fight between Israel and Hamas, and, specifically, the international panorama in general, can barely be unanimous.
