#Netanyahu faces Congress

Two takes

Note from Dany: Elise and I, we’ve got a thing going. Let us both know if you like it… We see many things the same way, but we have some differences on the current war between Israel and Hamas. Most importantly, however, those differences are respectfully expressed. I hear Elise, and she hears me. And I appreciate where she’s coming from, even as I disagree on the details.

Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint meeting of Congress on July 24th. Below is the back and forth between the ladies of #What the Hell and #Cosmopolitics.

DP: Let’s talk about Netanyahu’s address to Congress. For me, I can’t separate the address from the context. And when I say context, I mean not simply the October 7 attacks, the hostages’ families, I also mean the outrages of antisemitism across American campuses, the disgraceful burning of the American flag in front of Union Station, the attack on the Watergate — where Bibi and the hostage families are staying — with thousands of cockroaches. I mean, what has happened to us?

EL: I totally agree with you on all of that—the victim blaming here since October 7 has been shameful. Haven’t the hostage families suffered enough? 

But we can’t paint all protestors of the war with the same broad brush, which is what Netanyahu continues to do .There are people who feel strongly about the number of Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza and  the humanitarian crisis. That doesn’t make every protestor a supporter of Hamas or Iran’s “useful idiots”, as Netanyahu called them. I’m not going to be a useful idiot for Netanyahu on that point. 

That said,  as I wrote a few months ago, I am concerned about how antisemitism has been conflated with criticism of Israeli policy and has become a political football. How did Israel’s actions in the war against Hamas become the fault of every Jew around the world? You can’t just blame it on ignorance.

DP: But that’s the thing Elise. It’s not ignorance, it’s antisemitism. Regarding the protesters, I want to be crystal clear here: I don’t care if some of them are legitimately concerned about Palestinian deaths. The second you don a keffiyeh and stand on the street condemning the Jews, you’re one of them. Good people hate unnecessary deaths – including those of Palestinians. But that’s on Hamas. Period.

Re Bibi, to quote my mother, now is not the time to be cutting down the government of Israel. There’s lots to complain about with Netanyahu, and lots to admire too. He’s no Donald Trump — he’s smarter, and more strategic; and he’s also hamstrung by a terrible political system in Israel. Would there be someone better? Maybe. But that’s the great thing about real democracies — the Israeli people can get rid of him any time they like. And I’ve got to say, I didn’t disagree with a word he said. And I was ashamed of the Democrats that sat in their seats like the hypocrites they are when he criticized Iran, and criticized antisemites, and criticized Israel-haters. What the hell has happened to the Democratic Party?

EL: Let’s stipulate that the Democrats who boycotted the speech and refused to stand were disrespectful. Before the speech, New York's Jerry Nadler called Netanyahu “the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2,100 years ago.” Yet he sat in the chamber and rose to applaud Netanyahu throughout his address. Even Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, whose feelings about Netanyahu were well-documented in his tone-deaf speech to the Israeli people earlier this year, was in the hall. He acknowledged the United States' relationship with Israel transcends any prime minister or president.

I don’t take issue with what he said about Iran, or Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Houthis. But I don’t appreciate Netanyahu’s effort to make Israel the Ukraine of the Middle East, as if they are on the frontlines fighting for us. I fully support US support for Israel, but—and we may disagree on this—I don’t believe in a blank check. For all its support, Washington is entitled to consider its own interests and have an opinion about Israel’s handling of the war when it comes to the use of American weapons in that war. 

Even if you want to disregard the international ire against Netanyahu, he has faced widespread internal criticism from the Israeli public and most of the country’s security establishment for prolonging the war in order to avoid a likely fall from power when the conflict is over and for not prioritizing the  hostages. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other senior military officials have publicly rebuked Netanyahu for his lack of a clear strategy for Gaza’s future post-Hamas and left his war cabinet. Two thirds of Israelis want him to follow Biden’s lead and resign.

Netanyahu may be smarter than Trump, but he is no less self-interested. I don’t even know why he is here now, to be honest. I believe even you said he should have canceled.

DP: I think he should have canceled. No point in showing up to a terrible Thanksgiving dinner – our current political climate – with people who aren’t even your family. But no, we can’t tell Israel how to prosecute the war, because we don’t know what the F we are talking about. That’s clear in Ukraine as well. Our military doesn’t know how to fight this kind of battle — viz the warnings about Rafah that were totally off. And sorry, more people in America care about Israel than care about Ukraine. I am a case in point: I care about Ukraine because I care about Russia, and the threat it poses. I care about Israel because Israel *is* America in the Middle East. Democratic, compassionate, decent, and fighting the same war we should be fighting but aren’t. It’s not about Bibi or Israeli politics. It's about who we’re with, and he represents Israel whether Chuck Schumer or that sorority girl Kamala like it or not. 

EL: Fair enough, but we are with Israel. There are many views on what it means to be pro-Israel in America. Still, the support has never waned. We sent a $14 billion military package to Israel. We assembled a coalition of states to defend them against Iran’s barrage of missiles. The Biden administration is working to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to secure the return of the hostages. There is nothing that Israel has asked of the US that we haven’t done , but Netanyahu says,  “Give us the tools faster, and we’ll finish the job faster.” His sense of entitlement is offensive to me as an American. 

DP: Come on, that’s not right. The Biden administration has slow rolled ammunition and weaponry to Israel, just as it had to Ukraine. And I know you deplore it when it’s Ukraine. That’s not the way to manipulate the Israelis in this war for their existence. It may seem like entitlement – that’s what Don Jr and JD Vance say about Ukraine – but I don’t think it’s crazy for our friends to think they are our friends, and deserve to be treated accordingly. And I have no doubt that if the shoes were on the other foot, Israel would be there for the United States every step of the way, just as they have for their Arab allies in the Abraham Accords. So, what’s your bottom line?

EL: Bottom line, this speech was political theater. I have criticized Trump in the past for politicizing relations with Israel, but Netanyahu is just as guilty. He said some nice words about Biden, but he knows the country is divided over the war and he is looking to exploit those divisions. 

The families of American hostages said they were “profoundly disappointed” by Netanyahu’s speech. Plus when more than two dozen former Israeli senior officials from Israel's security establishment, including Mossad and Shin Bet, wrote to Congress about their "grave concerns" regarding the "damage" Netanyahu's visit will do to the U.S. and Israel's joint objectives—including some who worked for Netanyahu—you can’t say it’s just Chuck and Kamala.

DP: I don’t think Chuck Schumer has had an apolitical thought in decades. And I don’t think Kamala has had a thought. Look, it sucks to be president, prime minister, king, queen, whatever. Of course the hostage families hate him: They want their families back regardless of the strategic objectives of the war. I would feel the same way, 100 percent. And I think there are legitimate criticisms of Netanyahu and the prosecution of the war and his decision-making. But guess what? They’re not ours to make. Israel is a democracy. And I know what you’re going to say: We give Israel so much support financially and otherwise, we have a right. OK, alert me when we criticize Egypt ($1.2 billion a year), Jordan, Lebanon, or even Ukraine’s domestic political decision-making. Yeah.

EL: Ten months into the war, it would have been nice to hear Netanyahu have some semblance of a  plan for ending the war and the “day after” in Gaza.  His idea of “total victory” against Hamas is a fantasy and both his outline of a plan for a "deradicalized" post-war Gaza and idea for a  potential future alliance between Israel and America's Arab allies were also vague. There was no talk about committing a bilateral cease-fire in return for hostages, even though there is a deal on the table that top Israeli defense and intelligence officials have called on him to accept. I didn’t hear anything about peace. Why was he here again? 

DP: He was here because he was invited, and because standing up to the Democrats who hate him helps him politically at home. He didn’t say anything wrong. And I know people hate him for that too. Look, I want Israel to defeat Hamas, kill their leaders, and help find a path forward for the Palestinians. I’ve written it repeatedly. But the Palestinians are responsible for “Palestine.” Israel isn’t. Ideally, there would be more meetings like the recent one in the UAE on the future of Gaza. But let’s not be dumb: Iran doesn’t want a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. And neither do many Palestinians. Israel doesn’t need to sign up to its own destruction. Those days are over for the Jewish people.