Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday afternoon delivered his fourth address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, in which he called for a decisive victory over the Hamas terror group and launched a novel approach to dealing with the threat posed by Iran.
“It is a profound honor to address this citadel of democracy for the fourth time,” Netanyahu opened his speech.
“In the Middle East, Iran’s axis of terror confronts Israel, America and our Arab friends. This is not a clash between civilizations, it’s a clash between barbarism and civilizations. It’s a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life,” the premier said.
“For the forces of civilization to triumph, Israel and America must stand together,” he added. “We will win.”
Turning to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, Netanyahu said that “heaven turned into hell” when 3,000 Palestinian terrorists invaded the Jewish state that day.
“These monsters, they raped women, they beheaded men, they burned babies alive, killed parents in front of their children, and children in front of their parents,” he said.
Netanyahu then turned towards the families of hostages taken on Oct. 7 who joined him on the trip to Washington and vowed not to rest until their loved ones are freed from the Gaza “dungeons.” Negotiations to secure their release are taking place “right now,” the premier stressed.
“Israel has already brought home 135 of these hostages, including seven who were freed during rescue operations,” he stated.
Netanyahu also praised U.S. President Joe Biden’s efforts to assist the Jewish state throughout the war against Hamas, calling the American leader’s Oct. 18 trip to Israel a “visit that will never be forgotten.”
Regarding anti-Israel protests on U.S. college campuses, Netanyahu accused demonstrators and university administrators alike of being “useful idiots” for the Iranian regime and betraying liberal values.
“Just as malicious lies were leveled for centuries at the Jewish people, malicious lies are now being leveled at the Jewish state,” he said. “The outrageous slanders that Israel is racist and genocidal are meant to delegitimize Israel, demonize the Jewish state and demonize Jews everywhere.”
“Despite all the lies you’ve heard, the war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatants casualties in the history of urban warfare. And you want to know where it’s lowest in Gaza? It’s lowest in Rafah,” he said of the IDF operation in the southernmost city.
Netanyahu’s address came some nine months after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, murdering around 1,200 civilians and soldiers, wounding thousands more and taking about 250 hostages back to Gaza.
The premier’s visit to Washington also comes amid ongoing tensions with Iran-backed terrorist organizations across the Middle East, including Yemen’s Houthis and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
With this speech, Netanyahu surpassed British wartime leader Winston Churchill for the most joint-session speeches by any foreign leader. Netanyahu previously addressed Congress in 2015, 2011 and 1996.
It marked the 10th time an Israeli leader has addressed America’s national legislature, starting with former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1976 and, most recently, President Isaac Herzog on July 19, 2023.
Netanyahu was invited by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
The invite “symbolizes the U.S. and Israel’s enduring relationship and will offer Prime Minister Netanyahu the opportunity to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending their democracy, combating terror, and establishing just and lasting peace in the region,” they said in June.
Though it is customary for vice presidents who additionally serve as presidents of the Senate to attend speeches by foreign leaders, likely Democratic nominee for the White House Kamala Harris declined to preside due to what her office said was a scheduling conflict.
Instead, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is Jewish and pro-Israel, sat beside Johnson and behind Netanyahu during Wednesday’s address.
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotted the event, including former House speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former House majority whip Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a libertarian who opposes aid to the Jewish state, was the sole Republican to skip the prime minister’s speech.
Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Monday, seeking to solidify bipartisan support following U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 election and amid ongoing conflicts on Israel’s borders.
On Thursday, the longtime Israeli leader will meet with Biden at the White House, marking Netanyahu’s first invitation there since he returned to office following the Jewish state’s Nov. 1, 2022 election.
Netanyahu will meet separately with Harris later that day, followed by a sit-down with former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday.