JNS
The Israeli prime minister thanked the United States for its friendship and support, and emphasized the need to eradicate Hamas and to counter the Iranian threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received bursts of applause and frequent standing ovations—often from both sides of the aisle—as he delivered an address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday afternoon.
In his remarks, which ran about an hour, Netanyahu praised the longevity and closeness of the U.S.-Israeli relationship; called for a decisive victory over the Hamas terror group; and urged the United States to help defeat the Iranian regime that, he said, continues to threaten both the Jewish state and the rest of the world.
He also said it was a "profound honor to address this citadel of democracy for the fourth time."
“In the Middle East, Iran’s axis of terror confronts Israel, America and our Arab friends," Netanyahu said. "This is not a clash between civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilizations. It’s a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life."
Israel and the United must stand together "for the forces of civilization to triumph," the Israeli prime minister said. "We will win."
Oct. 7
When 3,000 Palestinian terrorists invaded the Jewish state on Oct. 7, "heaven turned into hell," Netanyahu said.
"These monsters—they raped women, they beheaded men, they burned babies alive, killed parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents," he added.
Netanyahu noted several guests in the Capitol who served heroically with distinction on and after Oct. 7, including Israeli soldiers of various backgrounds who were wounded. They and their colleagues deserve respect and admiration, not condemnation for war crimes, he said.
The prime minister also spoke to family members of hostages taken on Oct. 7 who joined him on the trip to Washington. He vowed not to rest until their loved ones were freed from the Gaza "dungeons."
Negotiations to secure their release are "taking place right now," Netanyahu said.
"Israel has already brought home 135 of these hostages, including seven who were freed during rescue operations," he added.
Netanyahu also praised U.S. President Joe Biden for coming to Israel's aid after Oct. 7. He called Biden's visit to the Jewish state on Oct. 18, during the war, a "visit that will never be forgotten."
Protesters serve as ‘useful idiots’
The Israeli prime minister noted protesters outside the Capitol that day, as well as the anti-Israel agitation on college and university campuses that marked the spring semester throughout the United States.
Those demonstrators and the administrators who enable them are "useful idiots" for the Iranian regime who betray liberal values, he said.
"Just as malicious lies were leveled for centuries at the Jewish people, malicious lies are now being leveled at the Jewish state," he said. "The outrageous slanders that Israel is racist and genocidal are meant to delegitimize Israel, demonize the Jewish state and demonize Jews everywhere."
"Despite all the lies you've heard, the war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatants casualties in the history of urban warfare," he said. "You want to know where it's lowest in Gaza? It's lowest in Rafah."
"When Israel fights Hamas, we're fighting Iran. When we fight Hezbollah, we're fighting Iran. When we fight the Houthis, we're fighting Iran," Netanyahu added.
"When we fight Iran, we’re fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America," Netanyahu said. "Our enemies are your enemies. Our fight is your fight. And our victory will be your victory."
Military aid: ‘Give us the tools’
Netanyahu called on lawmakers to fast-track military aid as a means to "dramatically expedite" an end to the war in Gaza and prevent all-out war on the Jewish state's northern border and other fronts.
"In World War II, as Britain fought on the frontlines of civilization, Winston Churchill appealed to Americans with these famous words: 'Give us the tools, and we'll finish the job,'" said Netanyahu to applause on the right side of the aisle.
"Today, as Israel fights on the frontlines of civilization, I, too, appeal to America," he said. "Give us the tools faster, and we'll finish the job faster."
With this talk, the Israeli prime minister has surpassed British wartime leader Winston Churchill as the foreign leader who has addressed a joint session of Congress the most number of times. Netanyahu spoke to that body in 2015 and 2011, and more than a decade earlier, in 1996.
