Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fiery congressional address drew divided reactions, as the GOP lauded the speech and Democratic lawmakers criticized it for not advancing progress toward peace and bringing hostages home.
In the Wednesday address, Netanyahu called for the U.S. to stand squarely by Israel in its fight against Iranian-backed groups, including Hamas, as he fiercely defended Israel’s war in Gaza and praised his troops as heroes.
He also claimed the death toll in Gaza is the lowest in modern urban warfare, vowed to pursue “total victory” in the war and condemned protesters demonstrating against him.
Democrats, dozens of whom had boycotted the speech, have scolded Netanyahu for failing to adequately make the case for how he would end the war in Gaza and bring home the roughly 116 hostages still held by Hamas. Netanyahu said he was “confident” that ongoing negotiations for a deal could result in an agreement, but only touched on the topic for a brief moment and did not appear to assuage any of those concerns.
Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has called for Netanyahu to resign and did not attend the speech on Wednesday, said the address “was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.”
“These families are asking for a ceasefire deal that will bring the hostages home — and we hope the Prime Minister would spend his time achieving that goal,” she said in a statement.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who protested the speech by holding up a sign calling Netanyahu a war criminal, said the applause for the Israeli leader was “disgusting,” and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called the Israeli leader a “liar” after the speech.
“That speech was, as I expected, a setback for both the U.S.-Israel relationship and the fight against Hamas,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
But Republicans praised the speech, pointing to Netanyahu’s comments calling for unity against Iran and declaration that “Israel will always remain America’s indispensable ally.”
Netanyahu also called for an “Abraham Alliance” made up of allied Middle Eastern nations.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Hill that the Netanyahu speech was “epic.”
“I think the regional integration was really important,” he said, also supporting Netanyahu’s call to fast-track U.S. military aid to Israel.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) said Netanyahu had highlighted that “supporting and defending Israel is about the United States and the American people.”
“Our interests are completely and perfectly aligned,” he said, while also agreeing with Netanyahu’s remarks on the protesters. “These protesters, they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t understand what they’re doing. They’re defending evil.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) called it “incredible” and “one of the most powerful speeches I’ve seen.”
“Iran is the agent of chaos throughout the Middle East,” he said. “Iran is our declared enemy, as the prime minister mentioned and reminded us Americans, and Israel is in the Middle East fighting the fight against Iran.”
Netanyahu spent a chunk of his speech criticizing protesters, including those who demonstrated against his address on Wednesday across Washington. Protesters are calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, where more than 39,000 Palestinians have died in 10 months of war.
“They should be ashamed of themselves,” Netanyahu said of the protesters. “Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building … [the protesters] have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”
And Netanyahu repeated his claims that Israel would not resettle Gaza but would retain indefinite security control of the territory while a civilian Palestinian group that is not Hamas would govern.
But his perceived failure to outline a path to end the war is likely to rattle Democrats the most. Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war in Gaza for his own political survival as questions mount over the deadly Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, during which some 1,200 people in southern Israel were killed. Hamas also kidnapped some 250 hostages.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Netanyahu’s speech was “fundamentally dishonest.”
“He says he wants peace,” Nadler told MSNBC after the speech, “but his political interest is to keep the war going on as long as possible.”