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The applause won’t echo for long

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress yesterday was in sharp contrast to President Biden’s brief address from the Oval Office. Biden said he sacrificed himself for the sake of his country. Netanyahu is ready to sacrifice his country for himself.

The unmerited applause

The Congress members present, who were mostly Republicans, reacted positively to Netanyahu’s presentation. They applauded at virtually every sentence. There was particular enthusiasm for his introduction of wounded Israeli soldiers, one of whom was Druze and one Muslim. They represent however a small fraction of the force, especially at the officer level.

More important are the ultra-orthodox who serve in the IDF. Netanyahu did not mention them. The US has threatened their Netzah Yehuda (Judah’s victory) battalion with sanctions for their behavior on the West Bank. The US has already sanctioned settlers there. The IDF record of accountability for war crimes is weak. Its “much-vaunted “fact-finding mechanism” results in precious few indictments.

Quite a few Democrats, including the Vice President, absented themselves from the speech. Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib held up a sign saying “war criminal.” Vermont Senator Sanders called Netanyahu a war criminal in advance of his speech:

Other things Netanyahu omitted

The Prime Minister neglected to mention other important things:

1. His own responsibility for the intelligence and security lapses on October 7.
2. The Israel Defense Forces have freed few hostages in rescue operations.
3. The hostages freed so far have overwhelmingly been freed in negotiated exchanges with Hamas.
4. A ceasefire is needed to enable further exchanges of hostages and prisoners.
5. The majority of Israelis support a ceasefire and exchange.
6. They also want Netanyahu out. He continues the war in order to prevent that.
7. First-hand accounts of the IDF targeting of children and civilians in Gaza.
8. Settler violence, supported by the IDF, in the West Bank against Palestinians.
9. The expanding war with Lebanese Hizbollah in the north and Yemeni Houthis in the South.
10. Iran becoming a nuclear threshold state because of Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal.

Yes, the Hamas attack was barbarous

I can agree with Netanyahu that the October 7 Hamas attack was barbarous. But Israel’s response has not been civilized. It has been excessive and ineffective. That is a particularly bad combination. Israelis know this and want him out. Most Americans also have little or no confidence in Netanyahu. The applause in Congress won’t echo for long.