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The Israeli leader’s address to Congress demonstrated true statesmanship in the face of hard-Left intimidation
What do we talk about when we talk about Benjamin Netanyahu? In a normal world, discussion of this admittedly divisive figure should resemble that of any other leader. More often, however, his name is taken as a cipher for something else.
When the Israeli prime minister addressed Congress yesterday, amid a carnival of backslapping, standing ovations, grandiosity and protests, some of the response was predictably shameful. Rashida Tlaib, the hard-Left representative for the swing state of Michigan – who was unable to vote even for Israel’s right to exist back in November – held up a sign accusing him of being a “war criminal”. Well, she would say that, wouldn’t she?
This despite the fact that Israel’s operations in Gaza have killed fewer civilians per combatant than any other conflict in history, a point confirmed by the world’s foremost expert in urban warfare, John Spencer of West Point, whom Netanyahu referenced in his speech.
At least Tlaib turned up. About 70 Democrats snubbed the speech, a noticeable increase on the 58 who boycotted his address to Congress in 2015, a measure of the decline of the times. (Strangely, JD Vance didn’t attend either, but few can doubt his support for Israel.) You’d have thought that the attack by Hamas would have resulted in a rise in support for the Middle East’s sole democracy as it fights for its life against an enemy that is coming for us next. You’d have thought wrong.
But for these people, this wasn’t really about Bibi. In the minds of those taking the Hamas side of the argument, this was criticism of the Israeli leader in the same way as their hatred of “Zionism” is simply a philosophical opposition to the principle of Jewish self-determination. Antisemitism is nothing if not inventive; when its cover is rumbled, it fabricates another. The Jews drink the blood of Gentile children. The Zionists relish killing babies. Netanyahu is a genocidal war criminal. The progression is simply one of refinement.
Clearing that from the lens, therefore, Netanyahu’s speech was a resounding triumph. He is beleaguered, controversial, unpopular at home – 60 per cent of Israelis want him gone – and hamstrung by his reliance on contemptible far-Right coalition partners. While he continues to face corruption charges, his wife posts pictures on Instagram while posing on their newly refurbished private jet. Yet when it comes to making the case for Israel, the man is a genius. He is by far the best orator the Jewish state has ever produced.
Here, at long last, was a demonstration to the west of what moral clarity looks like, delivered at the very heart of the free world. “In the Middle East, Iran’s axis of terror confronts America, Israel and our Arab friends,” Netanyahu said, eclipsing Churchill’s record for addressing Congress and echoing him in rhetoric. “This is not a clash of civilisations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilisation. It’s a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life.” To prevail, he added, “America and Israel must stand together. We will win.” This received perhaps the most rapturous applause.
The last time Netanyahu addressed Congress, in 2015, when he railed against Obama’s coming nuclear deal with Iran, it laid the groundwork for the Abraham Accords. The Gulf states, who were equally concerned about the appeasement of Tehran, saw the Israeli leader commanding an audience that they simply could not. Under pressure from Iran, their interests were aligning. Allyship presented itself as the obvious conclusion. Last night, the demonstration of Israeli influence was once again not lost on the moderate Arab world.
The speech was rich in moments that went far to win hearts and minds, making the case viscerally for why every person of conscience should support Israel in this struggle. Netanyahu pointed out individuals who symbolised in different ways his country’s resilience and courage. Noa Argamani, the rescued hostage who has become the icon of the anguish, accepted Congress’s appreciation despite having been sharply critical of Netanyahu elsewhere.
The assembly also lauded Avichail Reuven, a brave Ethiopian Israeli paratrooper who on October 7 grabbed his rifle and ran eight miles to the battle zone – he did not have a car –to defend his people. Master Sergeant Ashraf al Bahiri, a Muslim Bedouin serviceman who fought with great valour in Kibbutz Be’eri, stood for a moment in the eyes of the world as a symbol of Israel’s pluralism, tolerance and unity. Tell me again about an “apartheid state”?
This was badly needed catnip to downtrodden and discouraged Jewish communities across the world. It roused the spirits of millions of ordinary people, both in the United States and further afield, who have looked on in dismay as the oxygen has been sucked out of the room by fanatical Gaza radicals dominating the airwaves.
But the greatest significance of Bibi’s tour de force was geopolitical. And not just in terms of its effect in the Gulf. Despite Joe Biden’s crucial support for the Jewish state – Netanyahu praised him fulsomely for his swift provision of two aircraft carrier strike groups immediately after the October pogroms – his leadership over the past nine months has been characterised by inconstancy. On the one hand, he has pledged support. On the other, he has berated, hectored and undermined one of America’s closest allies, even moving to slow shipments of arms as it stared into the abyss of extinction. None of this was lost on Hamas.
It is well-known that despite never having left Gaza aside from a sojourn in an Israeli prison, Yahya Sinwar fancies himself as a distinguished geopolitical strategist. Israeli sources have suggested that he over-interpreted the campus protests in America, wrongly divining that public opinion was swinging behind Hamas when 80 per cent of the population continued to support Israel. His interpretation of the Biden vacillation was obvious. There were divisions between the allies. American support was weakening. This, after all, was the assumption upon which his war strategy was constructed. If Hamas could not win on the battlefield, it could sap its enemy’s international support by way of propaganda, forcing Israel to back down before the war was won.
Bibi’s speech was a correction to this dangerous emboldening. There can be no mistake this morning. The scenes of ranks of congressmen united in a standing ovation were more powerful than any images of idiots in keffiyehs being pepper-sprayed outside. The United States and Israel stand shoulder-to-shoulder. And in November, Sinwar will likely have to contend with Donald Trump.
If none of this would have been lost on Sinwar as he squatted in his stinking hole underground, even less would have been lost on the sophisticated leadership of Iran. Part of the achievement of Netanyahu’s speech was that it provided a vision of the threats facing the west that was clear enough for a child to understand. Iran is, to borrow a metaphor from Netanyahu’s rival, Naftali Bennett, the “head of the octopus”. It is the malign force behind the vast majority of instability and bloodshed in the region, and has its hooks into our societies, too.
“Iran is virtually behind all the terrorism, all the turmoil, all the chaos, all the killing,” Netanyahu said. The United States, “the guardian of Western civilisation,” was the only power standing in the way of Tehran’s plans for global subjugation, he pointed out. Israel, meanwhile, was “merely a tool” for Iran, he added, quoting a Hezbollah official. “The main war, the real war, is with America.” There’s a reason why Israel is dubbed the “small Satan” while the United States is “the great Satan”, after all. Be in no doubt: Britain is a Satan, too.
At home in Israel, Netanyahu’s address was seen less glowingly. Grand and impressive as it was, his speech was targeted by protesters wearing yellow “seal the deal” T-shirts, demanding that he do more to win a deal that will release more hostages from the dungeons of Gaza. Hamas has reportedly caved on its key demand for an end to the war as part of any arrangement. Netanyahu has reportedly been slow-walking efforts to negotiate in Qatar. His opponents mutter darkly that he is prolonging the war for his own political gain.
Israel remains a nation in deep anguish. Coverage of the prime minister’s speech in Hebrew was quickly eclipsed by reports that the remains of five hostages had been recovered from Gaza. Tens of thousands of Israeli citizens forced out of their homes in the north, refugees in their own homeland, have just been told that their children will miss another year of school due to continued rocket barrages by Hezbollah. A few weeks ago, the defence minister, Yoav Gallant, had promised that the problem would be solved by the next school year. Seen in this frame, the razzmatazz of Capitol Hill looks like ticker tape above a cemetery.
But this was about the eyes of the world, and if Israel is to prevail in this struggle and emerge stronger, that is vital. Last night, in an era in which true statesmanship is thin on the ground, a true and compelling moral vision came from a sullied source. It is worth taking the time to be inspired.