Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make the case Wednesday to Congress — and the American people — that Israel should be free to defeat Hamas, and Iran, without the constraints imposed by the Biden administration.
Netanyahu will address a special joint session of Congress for the fourth time, and for the second time in the shadow of profound disagreements with a Democratic administration about whether to confront or appease Iran and terror.
In 2015, Netanyahu was invited by a Republican-led Congress to make his case against then-President Barack Obama’s proposed nuclear deal with Iran. The speech infuriated Democrats but was prescient about Iran’s intentions.
Nearly a decade later, Netanyahu will make the case for allowing Israel to destroy Hamas, and to confront threats from Iran and its terrorist proxies, before there is any talk of a Palestinian state or another rapprochement with Iran.
The context is President Joe Biden’s lukewarm support for Israel. Biden visited Israel after the October 7 terror attack by Hamas, but has been critical of Israel at times, and has pushed for a Palestinian state as the outcome of the war.
More significantly, Biden has withheld a variety of weapons from Israel, openly and covertly, and has told Israel to refrain from certain military operations, such as the attack on Hamas in Rafah. Israel has, at times, disobeyed.
The Biden administration has also slapped sanctions on Israelis in response to pressure from pro-Palestinian groups. The president has also endorsed calls to oust Netanyahu by forcing new elections through protests in Israel’s streets.
The White House has warned Netanyahu not to take a confrontational stance in his address, and Netanyahu is under domestic pressure to work the the U.S., not just to obtain weapons but to reach a hostage release deal with Hamas.
Therefore Netanyahu is likely to be diplomatic, and to praise and thank the Biden administration and Congress for providing weapons, foreign aid, and moral support. His criticisms will be muted; he will stress common interests.
But Biden’s sudden withdrawal from the 2024 race has also thrust the U.S.-Israel relationship into a new phase. Netanyahu worked well with President Donald Trump before a falling-out after Netanyahu congratulated Biden.
Amid a thaw in the relationship, Netanyahu may wish to forge a path for cooperation with Trump — without alienating Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden’s likely replacement, who has appeased anti-Israel activists.
Netanyahu will also have to contend with anti-Israel sentiment among Democrats — many of whom will be boycotting the speech — as well as growing skepticism of foreign aid among a small but vocal faction of the American right.
Even as he speaks to Congress, therefore, and navigates a maze of changing relations within and between the parties, he will have to aim to reach a broader audience and make the case for the alliance directly to the American people.
He will draw on a rare skill set. Unlike other leaders, notably Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is more at home with elites, Netanyahu understands and respects ordinary Americans — and is liked and respected in return.
His task will be to frame the challenge of the fight against terror as a broader fight to reclaim western civilization from its enemies, notably Iran, and to strengthen the West against the emerging rival powers of a multipolar world.
He can strike a chord by emphasizing not only common values of democracy and liberty, but the common aspiration of Americans and Israelis to be free peoples with ties to a land and a heritage deeper than words alone can express.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
