(PJ Media) Despite fanatical pro-Hamas protesters who set off fire alarms all night in his hotel, left maggots in the conference room set aside for the Israelis, and tried to block all the roads on the way to the Capitol, the forces of evil did not prevail: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress on Wednesday afternoon as planned and did his best to shore up a U.S./Israel alliance that the Biden-Harris administration, in desperate pursuit of votes from Michigan, has done so much to damage.
The signs of that damage were unmistakable as Netanyahu entered the House chamber to an enthusiastic and prolonged standing ovation. Some of the House’s most notorious leftists boycotted the event, including Nancy Pelosi, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the lame duck Jamaal Bowman, Jamie Raskin, and Cori Bush. Rashida Tlaib was there, looking even more sour than usual and holding up a fan, on which was printed “War Criminal.”
For the most part, however, Netanyahu was warmly received. He was interrupted repeatedly for standing ovations as he declared that the Gaza war is “not a clash of civilizations – it’s a clash between barbarism and civilization.” The war, he said, was “a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life.” In one of many gentle but unmistakable ripostes to those in the Biden regime who want to destroy America’s alliance with Israel, he emphasized that “for the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together.”
Netanyahu took his audience through a brief but pointed recap of just how bad the Hamas jihad attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, really were, noting that in proportion to the populations of Israel and the U.S., Oct. 7 was like twenty 9/11s. He introduced the rescued Israeli hostage Noa Argamani, who was in the galleries (seated not far from Elon Musk), and struck a conciliatory tone, ignoring all the ways that the Biden administration has betrayed Israel while thanking Biden for his “tireless efforts on behalf of the hostages,” as well as his “heartfelt support for Israel.”
The Israeli prime minister also struck back at the false claim that Israel is an “apartheid” state, introducing a Bedouin Muslim soldier and pointing out that in the Israeli military, Muslim soldiers are fighting alongside their Jewish, Druze, and Christian comrades-in-arms for the defense of their country.
In the same vein, Netanyahu had strong words for the anti-Israel protesters who, he said, “stand with evil, stand with Hamas.” They should, he said to prolonged applause, “be ashamed of themselves.” Gays for Gaza, he said, were equivalent to Chickens for KFC. It was, of course, blazingly obvious, and only unusual in that no one of his stature had said it before.
To those who claim that Israel is a colonialist state, he emphasized the Jewish people’s 4,000-year connection to their homeland. Claims that Israel is racist and genocidal were, he stated, “outrageous slanders.” He also addressed the International Criminal Court’s accusation that Israel is starving the people of Gaza, calling it a “complete fabrication” and noting the fact that Hamas is stealing aid meant for the people of Gaza.
In response to ICC claims that the IDF is deliberately targeting civilians, Netanyahu pointed out the immense efforts that Israel makes to keep civilians out of harm’s way. He noted that Col. John Spencer of West Point, after extensive study of the situation on the ground in Gaza, stated that Israel has implanted more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history, and more than what international law requires.
