Netanyahu’s address to Congress ‘gutsy’ to some members of Congress, old news to others

U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle reacted differently to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress, something he’s done a record four times for a foreign leader.

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) thinks that the Israeli prime minister delivered “a solid speech.”

“I appreciated that he touched on the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship, talked about Israel’s actions and securing its borders, defending its citizens, rescuing the hostages, but also laid out a vision for the future, and one that saw Gaza as governed by Palestinians that aren’t seeking to destroy Israel as part of a broader region with security, prosperity and peace,” the Jewish congressman told JNS.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told JNS that Netanyahu’s speech “was excellent and well received.”

“It was gutsy. I had high expectations, and I think he met them,” the Tennessee Republican said. He called it “brave” of Netanyahu to take on pro-Hamas rioters, who tore and burned a U.S. flag at Washington’s Union Station, during the speech.

“That turns my stomach,” the congressman said of the anti-Israel protesters.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a pro-Israel stalwart who is also Jewish, told JNS that Netanyahu “did a very good job of putting forward Israel’s position,” but “did not bring any new policies or proposals with him.”

“He was fiery, and he got a very enthusiastic response,” said the California Democrat, who was hoping for more concrete answers from Netanyahu on a resolution to the Israel-Hamas war and a plan for the day after Hamas’s eradication.

“Frankly, I would have hoped that he would have taken the first steps to move Israel back to where it was on the two-state solution issue,” Sherman said. “It’s very hard to argue that Israel should exercise permanent sovereignty” over the Palestinians, “especially if they can’t vote for the Knesset.”

In his speech, Netanyahu said that there is a place for a well-vetted, Palestinian civil administration to take over in Gaza after Hamas is defeated.

The speech wasn’t the right setting to address the finer details about planning to end the war or ongoing talks, according to Schneider, the Illinois congressman who is also a strong supporter of Israel and a member of the Congressional Abraham Accords Caucus.

“It is a speech to a joint session of Congress. It was neither a negotiating session or a tabletop laying out the specific details,” Schneider told JNS. “I was grateful to hear him talking about — that Gaza would be governed by the Palestinians and that it would be demilitarized, deradicalized. I think that’s critically important.” 

That’s a vision, said Schneider. “The devil’s always in the details, but that should be discussed in small groups, in negotiations, and I hope we get there soon,” he added, noting that a ceasefire and hostage release deal should be sealed “as soon as possible.”

Picking sides

Netanyahu came into the speech walking a political tightrope, especially amid the U.S. presidential election and days after U.S. President Joe Biden announced he wouldn’t seek re-election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

Netanyahu paid homage to Biden and praised former president Donald Trump in his address.

“I don’t think it was a time to try to pick sides,” Burchett told JNS.

The Tennessee Republican chastised Harris for making a long-planned campaign stop in Indianapolis rather than presiding over the speech in her capacity as Senate president.

The issue took on added significance this week, as Harris became the presumed Democratic nominee for president. Critics have said that she skipped the speech because she did not want to be photographed and captured on video clapping — or not reacting — to Netanyahu’s remarks.

Schneider told JNS that Netanyahu “rightly acknowledged President Biden’s efforts, the fact that he stood by Israel in the time of greatest need.”

Sherman, who was part of the committee that greeted Netanyahu and escorted him to the podium, told JNS that he would have to examine Netanyahu’s speech more closely, but his “Democratic friends tend to think that he talked too much about Trump.”

The California Democrat took “slight umbrage” with the fact that Netanyahu “didn’t thank Congress.”

“We’re the ones that provided the $14 billion” in emergency aid after Oct. 7, he told JNS.

‘Very emotional about the issue’

Dozens of members of Congress did not show up for Netanyahu’s speech, with many announcing ahead of time that they would boycott it. (the Associated Press reported that more than 60 were no-shows.)

“Some of them are not in favor of Israel, and I get it,” Burchett told JNS. But he took issue with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) holding up a two-sided sign during the address that read “war criminal” and “guilty of genocide.”

“I didn’t think it was the proper time to do it, but she’s very emotional about the issue, and the pro-Palestinian media is doing what they do best in misleading the American public,” Burchett told JNS.

Sherman said he sees a double standard in his party.

“We’ve had controversial leaders speak to us before,” he said, citing an address by Indian president Narendra Modi, who had previously been denied a U.S. visa for violating religious freedom.

“There was no controversy. Everybody showed up and listened to President Modi,” Sherman told JNS. “He represents the government of a very important ally.”

JNS asked what Sherman thinks it is about Netanyahu that draws such dissension in the Democratic Party.

“He seems to have a bit of a bromance with Trump. Everything in America is Trump, no Trump, and they just seem to get along well, personally, in a way that makes Democrats concerned,” the congressman said.

The California Democrat also criticized Israeli officials for “many, many mistakes when it comes to public relations, whether it be repudiating a two-state solution that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon anyway” or comments about a “siege” of Gaza that led to accusations of humanitarian law violations.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was the most high-profile member of Congress to boycott Netanayhu’s speech, calling it “by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress.”

Pelosi chided Netanyahu for not yet reaching a deal to bring home the hostages held in Gaza.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish, wrote that “Benjamin Netanyahu is the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2,100 years ago.”

Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, took Netanyahu to task for what he said was the Israeli leaders’ refusal “to implement President Biden’s widely accepted proposal that would lead to a ceasefire, bring the hostages home, and allow for a new surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.”

A senior Biden administration official later contradicted that assertion, telling reporters during a briefing that Israel and Hamas are close to finalizing an agreement but are still working on the implementation details.

“There has been progress because the Israelis have put an awful lot on the table,” the senior U.S. official said.