Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received “almost 40” standing ovations during a contentious address to a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday.
- Netanyahu’s speech began after Speaker Mike Johnson brazenly introduced him as “Your Excellency,” which resulted in bipartisan applause.
- Netanyahu would then go on to hail the ongoing US complicity in the war on Gaza, demand more aid, parrot common Israeli falsehoods concerning burned babies and rapes of Israeli women on October 7th, and downplay civilian casualties caused by Israeli war strikes.
- At one point, the Israeli Prime Minister claimed the attack on October 7th was equal to twenty September 11th attacks, greatly diminishing the American tragedy. Despite the outrageous comments, he would once again receive a standing ovation from elected officials.
- Those in attendance included a suit-wearing John Fetterman (D-PA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rashida Talib (D-MI), and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who claimed he was a “personal guest” of Netanyahu.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims the October 7th attack on Israel is equal to “20 9/11’s in one day.”
— Justice Report (@JR_Newswire) July 24, 2024
He also brings up proven falsehoods about burned babies and other alleged casualties.
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The big picture: Netanyahu’s widely publicized address to the US Federal Government comes amid an increasingly precarious domestic situation, sparking throngs of protests throughout Washington DC.
- Thousands of protestors arrived in the US Capitol to denounce Netanyahu, a man currently facing war crime allegations, along with several other Israeli leaders. Capitol police fenced off and blocked several roads to deter protestors, with some even deploying pepper spray.
- Netanyahu’s speech comes as the death toll in Gaza dances on the precipice of 40,000 dead.
Netanyahu claims “practically” no Palestinian civilians were killed in airstrikes on Rafah, parroting the common Israeli narrative that all Palestinians are secretly “Hamas terrorists.”
— Justice Report (@JR_Newswire) July 24, 2024
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The conversation: Netanyahu’s fiery commentary also generated plenty of online outrage, with social media quickly becoming the backdrop for anti-Zionist rhetoric hurled from both sides of the political spectrum.
- “Today Congress will undertake political theater on behalf of the State Department. The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war. I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be attending…Call me anything you want. I still won’t be attending your war rally,” said Thomas Massie (R-KY) on X/Twitter. He would be the only Republican member of Congress not to attend, other than Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance.
- “If you believe that there were no civilian casualties in Rafah just because Bibi Netanyahu says so, you’re an idiot,” said former Obama staffer and leftist podcaster Tommy Vietor on X/Twitter.
- “Netanyahu is brazenly lying about civilian casualties. It’s not even worth trying to fact check because he is not in the same universe as the truth,” said progressive Leah Greenberg, also on X/Twitter.
- “72% of Israelis think Netanyahu should resign. But most of US Congress thinks he’s (the) greatest leader in the world. It’s humiliating that one of the most hated leaders on earth gets standing ovations from our pathetic representatives. Here’s who Congress actually represents: AIPAC,” said long-time progressive and TV commentator Cenk Uygur, also on X/Twitter.
🚨🇮🇱🇺🇸 Anti-Netanyahu protest in DC! pic.twitter.com/L40A9Elp75
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) July 24, 2024
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