GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 292

The Speech

Hearing From The Prime Minister

As scheduled, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered what I would call a barn burner speech at a joint session of Congress. He spoke passionately, boldly, and with the precision of a sniper hitting the target. Regardless of whether you like him or loathe him, there was no doubt where he stood or his passion for his nation, Israel and his people, the Jews. And he had quite a few zingers included for both those in the chamber and those protesting outside. He made sure that we knew that Israel thanks America for their support during this time of war and he derided those who sided with Hamas, even as one member of congress held up a sign deriding him. It was a speech coming from a seasoned political veteran of dealing with American politics with leaders who strongly spoke highly of him and those who couldn’t care less about him. In this environment he grabbed the spotlight and ran with vigor with it. He came with soldiers who fought and lost limbs and with one who ran eight miles to fight Hamas on October 7th because he had no vehicle get there. All in all, he did exactly what he needed to do and much more. And I might also add that the applause for him started even before he uttered one word and continued all the way through with him stopping it at one point to make his point. It was definitely a supportive crowd for the most part.

The Details

We read in a report from The Jerusalem Post that the PM called for countries to join and fight a common enemy:

All countries who are at peace with Israel and who will make peace with Israel must join a military alliance against Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he delivered his historic fourth address to a joint session of Congress.

He harkened back to how such cooperation kept Israel safe recently:

“We saw a glimpse of that alliance in April,” when five armies took to the skies to shoot down an Iranian missile and drone attack against the Jewish state, he said,

Netanyahu suggested that a new group of allies should be formed and offered a name for it:

This new alliance would be a natural extension of the groundbreaking Abraham Accords, he stated, noting that it should be called the Abraham (Alliance).

He often thanked America and Joe Biden:

He thanked both US President Joe Biden for his role as the architect of that April defense and spoke of his gratitude to former US President Donald Trump for brokering the Abraham Accords.

“Israel will always remain Israel’s indispensable ally,” he stated, adding that he came to Congress to thank the US for its support for the Jewish state in its hours of need and pledged that together, the two countries would defend democracy over tyranny, particularly against when facing Iran’s axis of evil.

The PM mentioned that Iran isn’t a big fan of the United States:

“Iran sees America as its greatest enemy,” Netanyahu said, explaining that the Islamic Republic has been fighting Washington since it came to power, including taking US hostages, killing its servicemen, and bombing its embassies.

“They sent death squads here” to murder US officials, he said.

He went on to note that only freedom loving countries stand in their way:

Standing in its way is the smell of democracy in Israel, Netanyahu said. “For Iran, Israel is first, America is next,” he stated.

“When we fight Iran, we are fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States,” Netanyahu said. When Israel engages in that fight and works to prevent a nuclear Iran, “we are not only protecting ourselves, we are protecting you,” he said.

"Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, our victories will be your victories,” he stated to resounding applause. One person yelled out, “Yes, sir.”

Netanyahu provide hope for those wanting the war to end:

That victory is in sight, as an Israel defeat of Hamas is a powerful blow to the axis of terror, Netanyahu said. He referenced the IDF multi-front battles against Iranian proxies, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Lebanon.

America Has Her Back

The Prime Minister then broached the help each country provides the other:

Earlier this month, Netanyahu explained, the Houthis sent an armed drone to Tel Aviv, which caused an explosion next to a branch of the US embassy.

Just as Israel defends the United States, “I know that America has our back,” he said. Netanyahu spoke of the joint defense and intelligence cooperation that helps protect both countries.

“We help keep US boots on the ground while protecting our citizens in the Middle East,” Netanyahu stated, adding, “I deeply appreciated America’s support.”

He then made the case for getting military help quicker:

Netanyahu appealed to the US to fast track military aid to help prevent a broader war in the Middle East.

Netanyahu must have known he his speech was succeeding right from the start:

His speech was a success from the moment he walked into the room, where he was greeted with resounding applause that continued throughout his address, including multiple (standing) ovations.

The PM then put more perspective on the war this way:

Netanyahu told Congress that they were meeting at a moment that was a “crossroad of history.”

Congress members stood and applauded when Netanyahu stated, “For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together.” They got out of their chairs again, when Netanyahu stressed, “when we stand together, something important happens, we win, they lose.”

And “We will win,” he added to another standing ovation.

He continued to thank both America and Joe Biden, who he’s known for some time:

Netanyahu thanked US President Joe Biden for his unwavering support since the start of the war, including his October trip, which he said, “would never be forgotten.”

“I want to thank him for half a century of friendship to Israel and for being a proud Irish American Zionist,” Netanyahu said. He also thanked the IDF soldiers, including those who were Muslim and Bedouin, a number of whom were present in the room and stood up to a round of applause.

Back To The War

With one hostage and families of others in attendance, Netanyahu talked about a more personal fight:

Netanyahu referenced the Hamas-led invasion of October 7 in which over 1,200 people were killed and another 251 seized as hostages.

He described the brutality of the attack and mentioned the hostages and their family members who were in the gallery, including rescued hostage Noa Argamani, who sat between her father and Netanyahu’s wife Sara.

“I will not rest until all their loved ones are homes,” Netanyahu said.

He intimated that securing their release could be imminent:

“As we speak we are actively engaged in efforts to secure their release,” some of that activity is taking place right now and “I’m certain it will succeed.”

The PM mentioned that in some way, Israel isn’t the underdog in this conflict like they’ve been in the past and that he wants to let those who’ve died, their deaths are not hollow:

Pointing to the long history of persecution, Netanyahu said, the “Jewish people are no longer helpless in the face of our enemies.”

To I pledge to you that the sacrifice of your loved ones will not be in vein,” Netanyahu stated.

“Never again must never be an empty promise; it must always remain a sacred vow, and after October 7, never again is now,” he stated.

A Moral War

Prime Minister Netanyahu told those in attendance that the fight is very basic:

Defeating Israel’s enemies requires courage and clarity, “by knowing the difference between good and evil,” he said

He then addressed the many protestors and threw daggers at a member of the Congress who put up a sign that simply said, “Guilty of Genocide,” something that they were told to avoid doing during the speech:

Increasingly many anti-Israel protestors stand with evil, they stand with Hamas, with rapists and murderers,” he stated.

“They should be ashamed of themselves,” he said.

Those protesters, he said, “have become Iran’s useful idiots.”

To bolster his point of the connection with the raging antisemitism and the sponsors of that sentiment, Netanyahu added this:

Israel recently learned that Iran is funding and promoting anti-Israel protests in America, they want to disrupt America,” he said.

Someone in the gallery shouted out “yes,” to that statement. Others shouted out, “USA, USA!”

Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests outside of this building, he said.

Chiding Them More

The PM wasn’t through addressing the logic of those protesting:

Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming gays for Gaza or from the River to the Sea, but they do not know what River and Sea they are talking about.

He then joked that saying gays for Palestine is like chickens for KFC. He then broke down their flawed logic this way:

They call Israel a colonial state, but “don’t they know that” this is the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he stated. For 4,000 years Israel has been the land of the Jewish people, Netanyahu said, “it has always been our home and it will always be our home.”

His exact quote is even better when he said that Israel is the land where Abraham Isaac and Jacob prayed, where Isaiah and Jeremiah preached and where David and Solomon ruled. He then pointed out that the roots of the protests were not just with students:

The problem is not just with the protestors but also in the halls of the country’s top elite schools, including his own alma mater MIT, he said.

Malicious lies historically leveled against Jews for centuries are now leveled against the Jewish state, he said, “Whenever we see the scourge of antisemitism… we must fight it,” Netanyahu stated.

He pointed fingers at the international charges against him and Israel:

This includes when the international court of leveling preposterous charges against Israel of genocide and starvation.

“I want to assure you, no matter what pressure is brought to bear,” Netanyahu said, he would never allow another October 7-style attack to happen against Israel.

The vast majority of Americans have not fallen for the “preposterous” lies against Israel, but as for the minority, they should listen to urban warfare expert John Spencer, who has lauded IDF efforts to preserve civilian life.

Spencer has said that Israel has taken steps above and beyond what international law requires, Netanyahu said.

The war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatant to civilian deaths of any war and its lowest in Rafah, Netanyahu stated.

The PM said that the court will turn on America next:

“The ICC is trying to shackle Israel’s hands and prevent it from defending itself,” Netanyahu said, warning that if this happens, the ICC will do the same to the US and other democracies.

The report them noted Netanyahu’s pledge to defeat Hamas:

Israel will fight until it destroys Hamas and returns all the hostages, Netanyahu said.

The IDF must retain overriding security control of Gaza to ensure that “it never again poses another threat to Israel,” Netanyahu stated.

Netanyahu talked briefly about Gaza after the war ends:

The governance should be by Palestinians “who do not seek to destroy Israel, that is not too much to ask,” Netanyahu said.

Gaza must be de-militarized and de-radicalized, he said.

The PM concluded with these sentiments:

Jerusalem’s eternal capital will never be divided again, he said. “The hands of the Jewish state will never be shackled, Israel will always defend itself,” Netanyahu said.