Given his role in directing the slaughter of nearly 40,000 people in Gaza, many of them children, and the vast majority of them with no ties to Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu should never have been invited to address the US Congress. The dozens of members of Congress who publicly announced that they would not attend Netanyahu’s speech deserve commendation, as does Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, who attended and held up a sign that rightly identified Netanyahu as a war criminal.
There have been debates over whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, although the International Court of Justice has said it is a “plausible” conclusion and longtime human rights advocate and Human Rights Watch founder Aryeh Neier has declared outright that Netanyahu’s government is committing genocide because it is blocking life saving humanitarian aid from reaching the residents of Gaza. Add to this large-scale killings of journalists and UN aid workers, the bombing of apartment complexes, and attacks on refugee camps and alleged safe zones, and there is no doubt that Israel is engaged in war crimes in Gaza. As the leader of that nation, Netanyahu bears responsibility for the abuses perpetrated by the Israeli military.
Reputational Damage
Given this background, the invitation to Netanyahu to speak to Congress, and the warm welcome he received from members in the room, is nothing short of shameful. Whatever one’s position on the status and future of Israel, it should be universally agreed that its actions in Gaza are unacceptable and must be stopped. And contrary to Netanyahu’s fantasy that leveling an entire territory in an effort to dismantle Hamas will make the residents of Israel safer, it is more likely to sow a generation of enmity towards the Jewish state that will sustain Hamas or a follow-on group of similar character.
Meanwhile, outside the friendly confines of the US Congress, Israel’s reputation — and that of its primary arms supplier, the United States — has been severely damaged in a majority of the world’s nations. Netanyahu’s offensive in Gaza is a tragedy for the Palestinians, but it will also undermine the long-term safety and stability of Israel itself. It’s hard to imagine a more counterproductive policy.
As for Washington, there is still time to withhold US military aid as leverage to promote a ceasefire and then an end to the conflict.
As for Washington, there is still time to withhold US military aid as leverage to promote a ceasefire and then an end to the conflict. The need to do so is grounded not only in humanitarian considerations, although those should be a part of any US approach to the conflict. It is also necessary to stop enabling Israel’s brutal attacks on Gaza because of the risk they pose of sparking a larger Middle East war that could draw in US military personnel.
No Good Reasons
Attacks and counter-attacks between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, and Israel and the Houthis in Yemen, may be just the beginning of a wider war, which could include attacks on US troops by militias in Iran or efforts to hit US ships in the area. Worst of all, the central theme of Netanyahu’s propaganda offensive is the exaggeration of the threat posed to the United States by Iran, with the implication that a war on Tehran may be necessary in the not so distant future.
There are no good humanitarian or security reasons to back Netanyahu’s war, and many risks to staying the current course.
Meanwhile, the Israeli leader has attempted to smear US advocates of a ceasefire in order to change the subject from the crimes he is presiding over in Gaza. Neither Congress nor the American public should fall for this transparent ploy. Stopping the killing in Gaza should be the top priority of the moment, and dissecting the conduct of US students is a sideshow that distracts from that urgent imperative. Congress and the Biden administration should begin the process of redeeming themselves by moving to cut off US military aid to Israel until it ceases its devastating war on the Palestinian people.
Top photo: Secretary Antony J. Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on May 1, 2024. (Official State Department photo by Chuck Kennedy)
