Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech before both houses of Congress was a work of thought and further proof that he has few competitors in the field of rhetoric, especially one suited to a mostly right-wing American audience. Thus, the speech excelled in presenting the Israeli positions regarding the war in Gaza, the fight against radical Islam, antisemitism, and more. Unlike his previous appearance in Congress, the prime minister was careful of statements that could provoke interparty political disputes and made sure to praise both President Biden and his opponent Trump.
Nonetheless, the differences in the reaction of the elected Republicans and Democrats were quite noticeable—about 70 Democrats chose to show their disapproval of the prime minister with their absence, and many others refrained from participating in the thunderous applause of the Republicans.
Despite its rhetorical richness, the speech had little content and no significant innovations. Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke of his commitment to a complete victory in Gaza, without explaining how this would be achieved, and presented a vision for the day after the war, including demobilization and the establishment of a “new Gaza,” again without any actual explanation of how things would be done. He spoke of his desire to bring about the quick return of the hostages, without expressing any willingness to be flexible in Israel’s policy; And he expressed his interest in establishing an “Abraham alliance” with friendly Arab countries, that is, a regional anti-Iranian axis, which is very similar to one of the main components of “President Biden’s vision,” not explaining how this would be possible without progress on the Palestinian issue.
Every meeting of Prime Minister Netanyahu with an American president and with the leading presidential candidates is an important opportunity to delve into the main issues at hand, especially in this period that is loaded with critical bilateral issues. However, American attention today—political, media, and public—is focused on the election process and the notable developments that have recently taken place in it, whether it is the assassination attempt on Trump or the almost certain pick of Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, after President Biden’s withdrawal from the race. The fact that Biden gave a speech to the nation about his retirement only a short time after Netanyahu’s appearance in Congress diverted attention from the Israeli prime minister.
Some believe that the two main goals of the visit were Netanyahu’s desire to use the unique stage of a speech in Congress to strengthen his political status at home, in addition to the Republicans’ desire to drive a wedge between Israel and the Democrats and turn it into a distinct party issue. The prime minister’s impressive appearance will surely contribute to achieving the first goal and the Republicans will surely make use of it for their own purposes, but it seems that Netanyahu’s caution to not be portrayed as someone who interferes in American domestic politics this time will make it at least partially difficult to achieve the second goal. At the time of writing these lines, it is not clear what practical conclusions, if any, were reached in the prime minister’s talks with senior government officials.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech before both houses of Congress was a work of thought and further proof that he has few competitors in the field of rhetoric, especially one suited to a mostly right-wing American audience. Thus, the speech excelled in presenting the Israeli positions regarding the war in Gaza, the fight against radical Islam, antisemitism, and more. Unlike his previous appearance in Congress, the prime minister was careful of statements that could provoke interparty political disputes and made sure to praise both President Biden and his opponent Trump.
Nonetheless, the differences in the reaction of the elected Republicans and Democrats were quite noticeable—about 70 Democrats chose to show their disapproval of the prime minister with their absence, and many others refrained from participating in the thunderous applause of the Republicans.
Despite its rhetorical richness, the speech had little content and no significant innovations. Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke of his commitment to a complete victory in Gaza, without explaining how this would be achieved, and presented a vision for the day after the war, including demobilization and the establishment of a “new Gaza,” again without any actual explanation of how things would be done. He spoke of his desire to bring about the quick return of the hostages, without expressing any willingness to be flexible in Israel’s policy; And he expressed his interest in establishing an “Abraham alliance” with friendly Arab countries, that is, a regional anti-Iranian axis, which is very similar to one of the main components of “President Biden’s vision,” not explaining how this would be possible without progress on the Palestinian issue.
Every meeting of Prime Minister Netanyahu with an American president and with the leading presidential candidates is an important opportunity to delve into the main issues at hand, especially in this period that is loaded with critical bilateral issues. However, American attention today—political, media, and public—is focused on the election process and the notable developments that have recently taken place in it, whether it is the assassination attempt on Trump or the almost certain pick of Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, after President Biden’s withdrawal from the race. The fact that Biden gave a speech to the nation about his retirement only a short time after Netanyahu’s appearance in Congress diverted attention from the Israeli prime minister.
Some believe that the two main goals of the visit were Netanyahu’s desire to use the unique stage of a speech in Congress to strengthen his political status at home, in addition to the Republicans’ desire to drive a wedge between Israel and the Democrats and turn it into a distinct party issue. The prime minister’s impressive appearance will surely contribute to achieving the first goal and the Republicans will surely make use of it for their own purposes, but it seems that Netanyahu’s caution to not be portrayed as someone who interferes in American domestic politics this time will make it at least partially difficult to achieve the second goal. At the time of writing these lines, it is not clear what practical conclusions, if any, were reached in the prime minister’s talks with senior government officials.