Politics|Netanyahu Delivers a Forceful Defense of Israel to Applause in Congress
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/us/politics/netanyahu-congress.html
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Netanyahu Delivers a Forceful Defense of Israel to Applause in Congress
The speech by Israel’s leader was charged with symbolism, as the war in Gaza has divided lawmakers. He portrayed the conflict as a proxy fight with Iran that must be won at all costs and condemned protesters.
By Annie Karni and David E. Sanger
Annie Karni covers Congress and has written extensively on the partisan splits created by the Gaza war. David E. Sanger covers the White House and has reported on national security for three decades at the Times.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Wednesday turned an address to Congress into a forceful defense of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. He cast it as a battle for survival of the Jewish state while making almost no mention of the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians killed in its drive to destroy Hamas.
The address laid bare deep divisions in Washington over the nine-month war, whose toll on civilians has outraged many Democrats and drawn international condemnation. Dozens of Democrats did not show up, with some openly boycotting the speech.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee who was campaigning in the Midwest, declined to preside in her capacity as president of the Senate alongside Speaker Mike Johnson, a break with tradition.
Outside the Capitol, pepper spray filled the air as police officers tried to push back thousands of protesters who had gathered to jeer Mr. Netanyahu. Demonstrators held signs calling him a war criminal, burned an effigy of him and an American flag and vandalized statues with anti-Israel slogans including “Hamas is coming.”
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Thousands Protest Netanyahu’s Address to Congress
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel forcefully defended Israel’s military campaign in Gaza during his address to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday.
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“This is not a clash of civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilization. Our enemies are your enemies. Our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory. Give us the tools faster and we’ll finish the job faster.” “Netanyahu you can’t hide.” “You’re committing genocide.” “When the I.C.C. is likely going to be issuing warrants for Netanyahu’s arrest that we are welcoming him in D.C., you know, shutting down the entire city — I mean, think about all the money that is being spent providing security to a war criminal for him to basically give a propaganda speech in front of Congress. This is just absurd.” “Many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
In a speech in which he condemned critics of the war as dupes aligning themselves with the world’s most dangerous actors or apologists for terrorists, Mr. Netanyahu portrayed the conflict as a proxy fight with Iran that must be won at all costs to protect both Israel and the United States.
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