Netanyahu Congressional Address
Updated 2024-08-28
2024-08-02 Rashida Tlaib: A Profile in Courage During the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., famously said, “The time is always right to do what is right.” While she may have been a lone protest voice during Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress last week, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) did what is right.
Most mainstream news reporting either ridiculed her or only briefly mentioned her silent protest displaying a sign with “War Criminal” printed on one side and “Guilty of Genocide” on the other. Missing was any analysis as to whether she was right. Let’s look at the facts. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/rashida-tlaib-courage
2024-07-27 In US, Netanyahu Spoke of “Democracy” But Offers Indefinite Apartheid Speaking before a joint session of Congress this week in an attempt to justify the mass destruction and death wrought by Israel’s war on Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preached about his country’s “powerful and vibrant democracy” to applause from an audience dominated by Republicans as protests raged outside the Capitol.
Issa Amro, a Palestinian activist living under Israeli occupation in Hebron in the West Bank, said Americans should not be fooled. Military occupation and democracy are contradictory, Amro argued, and alleged war criminals such as Netanyahu have no right to talk about “democracy” when Palestinians living under illegal occupation face state-backed violence and displacement.
“For sure I live under Israeli apartheid and Israeli occupation and Israeli supremacy,” Amro told Truthout after the speech. “Netanyahu can’t talk about democracy when his government is occupying the West Bank and Gaza and East Jerusalem and not allowing us to practice our own freedoms.” https://truthout.org/articles/in-us-netanyahu-spoke-of-democracy-but-offers-indefinite-apartheid/
2024-07-25 Netanyahu Vows to “Finish the Job Faster” in Gaza If US Gives Him More Weapons n his speech to Congress on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a direct appeal to U.S. lawmakers to send Israel more weapons, vowing, chillingly, that the weapons shipments would enable Israel to “finish the job faster” in Gaza.
Netanyahu drew one of the clearest lines yet between the supply of U.S. weapons and Israel’s genocidal assault of Gaza, essentially straight out saying that the slaughter has been made possible by U.S. assistance — and that the speed of Israel’s genocide is scaled to how many U.S. weapons they receive.
“Fast tracking U.S. military aid can dramatically expedite an end to the war in Gaza and help prevent a broader war in the Middle East,” said Netanyahu, who tried to stoke war with Iran later in the speech. https://truthout.org/articles/netanyahu-vows-to-finish-the-job-faster-in-gaza-if-us-gives-him-more-weapons/
2024-07-25 Palestinian Human Rights Lawyer Slams Lawmakers Who Cheered Netanyahu’s Speech We speak with Palestinian human rights lawyer Noura Erakat about Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, in which he defended Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, lied repeatedly about the dire humanitarian conditions on the ground and refused to talk about how to reach a ceasefire to end the bloodshed. Although more than 100 Democrats skipped the speech, Erakat says the jubilant reaction from lawmakers in attendance showed U.S. leaders cheering “for what is essentially a war on children.”https://truthout.org/video/palestinian-human-rights-lawyer-slams-lawmakers-who-cheered-netanyahus-speech/
2024-07-24 Not Welcome: Jewish & Palestinian Activists Protest Netanyahu’s Address to Congress, 400 Arrested Some 400 Jewish activists, including over a dozen rabbis, were arrested Tuesday during a sit-in inside the Capitol to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress and demand an immediate U.S. weapons embargo on Israel. “It is absolutely shameful that congressional leadership has invited a war criminal, who is currently leading a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, to address a joint session of Congress,” says Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action. Lawmakers have rolled out a “blood-soaked red carpet to a war criminal” by inviting Benjamin Netanyahu, adds Palestinian American organizer Linda Sarsour, co-founder of the Muslim advocacy group MPower Action. Tuesday’s civil disobedience protest was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace. We are also joined by Noa Grayevsky, member of Jewish Voice for Peace-Portland, who joined the protest and whose cousin’s close friend was taken hostage on October 7. Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPTuJw4lDhs
2024-07-24 Bay Area ER Doc Returns from Gaza; Netanyahu Faces Genocide Complaint to DOJ as Protests Mar his DC Visit We spend the rest of our live show in Washington DC, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting for a series of diplomatic meetings starting Wednesday, with an address to congress, a meeting scheduled with President Joe Biden on Thursday, and then with former president Donald Trump this Friday in Mar-a-Lago. He’s also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris during his trip. We’re first joined by Maria LaHood, the Deputy Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights who has worked on legal projects related to justice in Palestine for decades, including on the Rachel Corrie legal case nearly 20 years ago. The Center for Constitutional Rights has urged the US Department of Justice to open a federal criminal investigation into the Israeli Prime Minister during his visit to the US, for his responsibility for genocide, war crimes, and torture, saying there is “overwhelming evidence” that, under Netanyahu, Israeli forces have committed these crimes against Palestinians during the nearly 10-month assault on Gaza.
Read CCR’s complaint: https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/ahead-netanyahu-visit-dc-center-constitutional-rights-calls-doj https://kpfa.org/episode/law-disorder-july-24-2024/
2024-07-24 “Not in Our Name”: 400 Jewish Activists Arrested Protesting Netanyahu Address Hundreds of Jewish activists were arrested in the U.S. Capitol complex on Tuesday after staging a sit-in to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S. and address to Congress this week, carrying signs and wearing shirts with slogans like “Not in Our Name” as they demanded an end to Israel’s U.S.-backed genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
Protesters with Jewish Voice for Peace called for Biden to stop sending weapons to Israel and to push for an immediate ceasefire, occupying the Cannon House Office building rotunda — the same place protesters occupied in October to demand a ceasefire as Israel was first embarking on its genocide.
“No one is free until everyone is free,” “Jews say stop arming Israel” and “Jews say: stop the genocide,” read some of the banners hoisted by the crowd, who were clad in matching red shirts with a demand for an arms embargo .https://truthout.org/articles/not-in-our-name-400-jewish-activists-arrested-protesting-netanyahu-address/
2024-07-24 Tlaib: Netanyahu Should Be Sent to The Hague, Not Addressing Congress Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) has said that it is “utterly disgraceful” that Congress has invited “war criminal” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address the chamber as he continues committing genocide in Gaza.
In a fiery statement on Tuesday, Tlaib said that Netanyahu should be arrested and sent to the Hague to be tried for war crimes — far from being given the distinction of speaking to Congress, which he is slated to do Wednesday evening.
“Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court,” said Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress.https://truthout.org/articles/tlaib-netanyahu-should-be-sent-to-the-hague-not-addressing-congress/
2024-07-24 Netanyahu’s Visit to Congress Underscores US Contempt for International Law The U.S. has long ignored many commands of international law, but its casual disregard of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has come into sharp focus this week as the U.S. Congress extends a warm welcome to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just five days after the ICJ notified all UN member states that they have a legal “obligation not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The World Court’s historic 83-page advisory opinion, which was issued on July 19 and held that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal, was quickly hailed by Middle East political expert Nomi Bar-Yaacov as a “legal earthquake” and the strongest decision that the court had ever issued.
Unsurprisingly, however, both the Israeli and U.S. governments denounced the ICJ’s ruling and proceeded with their plans — including Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, D.C. — as if it had never occurred. https://truthout.org/articles/netanyahus-visit-to-congress-underscores-us-contempt-for-international-law/
2024-07-23 Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress Is a Desperate Ploy to Rally Support for Genocide https://truthout.org/articles/netanyahus-speech-to-congress-is-a-desperate-ploy-to-rally-support-for-genocide/
2024-07-20 Rights Group Urges DOJ to Investigate Netanyahu for Genocide As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to visit Washington, D.C. next week, an American legal group on Friday pressured the U.S. Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into him and other officials for committing or authorizing genocide, war crimes, and torture targeting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Since Israel launched its retaliation for a Hamas-led attack on October 7, Israeli forces partly armed by the U.S. government have killed at least 38,848 people and wounded another 89,459 — according to Gaza officials — while destroying civilian infrastructure and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.
“We believe ample credible evidence exists to sufficiently establish that serious crimes falling within U.S. criminal jurisdiction are systematically being perpetrated in Gaza,” says the Center for Constitutional Rights’ (CCR) 23-page letter to Hope Olds, who leads the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) of the DOJ’s Criminal Division. https://truthout.org/articles/rights-group-urges-doj-to-investigate-netanyahu-for-genocide/
2024-07-18 230 Congressional Staffers Urge Lawmakers to Boycott Netanyahu Speech An anonymous letter supported by 230 staffers in the House of Representatives and the Senate is urging lawmakers to boycott a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to address Congress later this month as Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza rages on.
The letter, organized by members of the Congressional Progressive Staff Association and endorsed by staffers representing the offices of 122 Democratic and Republican lawmakers, describes the demand for a boycott of Netanyahu’s speech as an “issue of morality” that transcends politics, and notes that “citizens, students, and lawmakers across the country and the world have spoken out against the actions of Mr. Netanyahu,” including Israeli citizens.
Several staffers (and some lawmakers) plan to skip the speech in protest of Israel’s relentless bombing and starvation campaign in Gaza. In their letter, the staffers urge their bosses to do the same.https://truthout.org/articles/230-congressional-staffers-urge-lawmakers-to-boycott-netanyahu-speech/
2024-07-18 Israeli Lawmakers Vote Against Palestinian Statehood Before Netanyahu’s US Trip While Israel’s troops wage what has been widely decried as genocide on the Gaza Strip, Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing “the establishment of a Palestinian state” west of the Jordan River.
The measure passed Israel’s legislature, the Knesset, 68-9. It was spearheaded by Knesset Member Zeev Elkin of New Hope – The United Right, who shared the key messages from the resolution on social media along with a photo of the final tally.
According to Religious Zionism-affiliated Israel National News: The proposal says, “The Israeli Knesset firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan. The establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the land of Israel will pose an existential threat to the state of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and destabilize the region.” “It will only be a matter of a short time until Hamas takes over the Palestinian state and turns it into a base of radical Islamic terrorism, working in coordination with the axis led by Iran, to eliminate the state of Israel.” https://truthout.org/articles/israeli-lawmakers-vote-against-palestinian-statehood-before-netanyahus-us-trip/
2024-06-23 Should Biden worry about Netanyahu’s address to Congress? | Inside Story Israel’s prime minister is set to address a joint session of the US Congress next month. It’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s first trip to Washington since he launched his devastating war on Gaza. His speech could have big political implications for President Joe Biden and Israel. So, what might happen?
Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam Guests:
Akbar Shahid Ahmed – Senior Diplomatic Correspondent at HuffPost.
Yossi Mekelberg – Associate Fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.
Rami Khouri – Distinguished Public Policy Fellow at the American University of Beirut. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTSxCTtkPA
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