“I came here to assure you of one thing, that we will win.What is happening is not a clash of civilizations, but between barbarism and civilization, between those who glorify death and those who glorify life.
To make the forces of civilization triumph, the US and Israel must stand together”. Amid long applause and more than a few whistles, Benjamin Netanyahu he harangued the American Congress for the fourth time – one more than Winston Churchill – in an America distracted by the surprising rise of Kamala Harris and a few hours before Joe Biden explained to the nation the reason for his withdrawal, partly stealing the scene from him.
The Israeli Prime Minister spoke in a Capitol divided and under heavy security, amid numerous Democratic defections (around 100) and the thunderous protests of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who also besieged him in front of his hotel at the Watergate. And whom he contemptuously called in court as “useful idiots of Iran”.
The focus was obviously on defending his actions in Gaza, gaining support to continue the battle against Hamas and containing pro-Iranian groups such as Hezbollah and Houthis by targeting “the axis of Iranian terror that threatens the US, Israel and the Arab world”. But also reassuring on the efforts to complete the agreement on the ceasefire and the release of hostages supported by Biden, whom he thanked for his “sincere support” in all his 50 years of politics. A less confrontational speech than the one in 2015, when he used the invitation of the Republicans to criticize the policy of then President Barack Obama on Iran. And more bipartisan, trying to strengthen its traditional ties with the Grand Old Party but also to ease tensions with the Democratic president, on whom he will have to rely for the next six months: he will meet with him on Thursday, also meeting the hostages’ families, while he will have a separate meeting with his vice president, before flying to Mar-a-Lago on Friday for a face-to-face with Donald Trump.
Kamala Harris, however, chose not to preside over the joint session of Parliament for Bibi’s speech, invoking previous electoral commitments in Indianapolis. Behind this move, some see an attempt to further distance herself from her management of the war in Gaza, electorally recovering the opposition of the Democratic protest against Biden’s line, which was considered too soft. The speaker of the House Mike Johnson attacked her, accusing her of disloyalty to “our most important strategic ally at this time”. But Senator JD Vance, Trump’s vice president, was not there either, as he was also busy with the electoral campaign.
Harris’s is only the heaviest of dozens of Democratic defections (almost double those of 2015), to protest the bombings in Gaza and to avoid giving Netanyahu an opportunity to recover from disastrous domestic polls. Also absent are the first Democrat in line to succeed in the Senate, Patty Murray, her colleagues Dick Durbin (number two), Tim Kaine, Jeff Merkley and Brian Schatz, all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Chris Van Hollen: “For him, it’s about strengthening his support at home, I don’t want to be part of a political propaganda in this act of deception. He is not the great guardian of US-Israel relations”. Senator Bernie Sanders was even harsher: “I agree with the International Criminal Court and the independent UN commission that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar are war criminals”. Among the former deputies who skipped the speech were the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi – who preferred to meet with the Israeli families who were victims of Hamas’ actions – the passionate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, together with the moderate Ami Bera and the African-American leader James Clyburn. Instead, there was Rashida Tlaib, the Democratic representative from Michigan of Islamic religion who held up a sign in the chamber with the words “war criminal”.
Absences in tune with the wave of protests that have accompanied Bibi since his arrival in the capital, with over 200 arrests on Tuesday for entering Cannon House, a parliament building. A river of protesters who today besieged the Capitol – protected by high metal fences and an impressive deployment of police – with Palestinian flags, slogans against “genocide” and the “war criminal” Netanyahu. But also red t-shirts with the words ‘Not in Our Name’, to distance themselves from the policy of the Biden administration that nevertheless continues to support the ally.
The Israeli prime minister will surely find a less hostile environment at Mar-a-Lago for his first meeting with Trump since the end of his presidency, when he accused him of “treason” for rushing to congratulate Biden by acknowledging his victory. By now, all the major foreign policy issues also pass through Palm Beach: from Ukraine to the Middle East.