With all the political chaos in the US with President Biden bowing out of the 2024 campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the presumptive nominee, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress later today is more of an aside rather than a headliner.
Still, there is lots of controversy about Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and his speech. Not only are there decent-sized protests against the Israeli leader’s visit to Washington and his policies in the Gaza war, several progressive lawmakers and hostage families are boycotting the speech. Even Harris, who should be presiding over the session, is begging off to attend a campaign event - although she will meet with Netanyahu separately.
I want to listen to the speech before writing about it - but I’m opening this thread for us to discuss the speech and the Israel-related events in DC.
I am also working on something about what a Harris foreign policy might look like, which will come out later today. The Vice President may be assuming the mantle from Biden, but there would likely be some significant differences.
It's really not that complicated: Israel was attacked by brutal jihadist terrorists and needs to destroy their capacity to repeat "again and again" as promised. Israel is on the front line for all of civilization in what used to be called "the War on Terror". Iran's rogue Shiite Islamist regime has clearly and often stated its goals of eliminating the Jewish state (and people) and infiltrating and undermining the United States and other Western democracies with their archaic Islamist doctrines. Hamas is the weakest of the proxies; the larger threat is Hezbollah from the North and a nuclearized Iranian puppet master. If you don't believe they're coming for us next, take a look at what's happening in Paris, Berlin, Stockholm.
The W Bush and Obama administrations tried with good intention to spread American democracy to a region of the world that operates under a different set of cultural rules and is un-suited for the rule of law. They failed. Obama retreated and seemed to think it was a great idea to (as he would say) "stand with" Iran's murderous Ayatollahs to help them "share the neighborhood" with the Sunni Arab nations, leaving them to fight among themselves so the United States could disengage from the region.
Joe Biden is a decent man and sees the justice and legitimacy of Israel as the only ray of democratic light in the region. His revulsion at Hamas and its atrocities was and still is real. Unfortunately, he's surrounded by Obama doctrine holdovers. Worse, his withdrawal from the field removes the only firewall restraining elements of the Democratic party who have made up their minds that strength and resiliency is should be assumed to be achieved at the expense of someone else's "oppression". Israel is strong (and just), so "the Palestinians" (a "people" who's only distinguishing characteristic is that the other 22 Arab nations surrounding Israel don't want anything to do with them) must be "oppressed". They are oppressed--by their own corrupt and callous leaders, not Israel.
If Democrats really care, instead of disrespecting the elected leader of our nation's closest and most indispensable ally in the "war on terror", let them show up and contribute some new thinking about how to actually improve life for the Palestinian people--and it isn't by rewarding them with a State for their brutality. Shame on Harris and Pelosi for their petty absence from the stage today.
Not only is Harris at the head of the senate as vice president, but she is also a presidential candidate. To miss the speech of a foreign leader with a lame excuse, no matter what she (or I for that matter) thinks about Netanyahu shows that she has no idea about proper behaviour for a person in her position. This, on my view, is more the kind of behaviour that befits Donald Trump!
I don’t disagree with you, Henry. I also might add a Prime Minister coming to address Congress to criticize a leader of that country in the middle of a political upheaval is also inappropriate. I wasn’t supportive of that visit in the first place, and the fact Netanyahu didn’t cancel it given everything going on shows he has no idea of proper behavior for a person in his position. This is pure political theater. So yes, while Harris should attend, it only adds to Bibi’s self-inflicted drama IMHO
Hi Daniel, I really liked your comment up to the first colon and then your last sentence. That stands alone and sums up my thoughts. The bit in-between is unhelpful.
The concept of Israel being a "most indispensable ally" is a bit of an overstatement. And the Israeli government recognises this. It's manifested in the up and coming peace deal with Saudi Arabia. The US would like to view Israel as it did prior to 1973 when Nixon beefed up aid. Indeed, the US is doing everything possible to disengage from the Middle East. Just look at the muted response to the drone attacks on the Saudi oil refineries by the Houthis. If it wasn't for such a strong New York Jewish lobby, Israel would have been ditched years ago as a fairweather friend.
The fact that Netanyahu is a most odious character doesn't take away from the fact that he's still Israel's Prime Minister speaking by invitation to the legislature in which Harris is a key official which gives her the obligation to attend, as gagworthy as it is. Some times for the sake of decorum, you have to suck it up and smile.
It looks as if in this time of BIG and consequential events, we are saddled with small actors on the world stage. And those of stature are stifled. We are witnessing an era of true anti-intellectualism. We no longer hold those self-evident truths that are so important to a free people.
Netanyahu's big day indeed. He was Reaganesque and validated the need for him to come and explain the dire consequences of failing to defeat Hamas. It is truly a struggle between "barbarism and civilization."
It is shameful that so many do not understand and fail to recognize the evil in the world. And the Prime Minister articulated well his vision of victory and how to achieve it and sustain it. He told us that to secure this victory we must focus on the source of this evil--Iran.
Netanyahu's visit has the potential to encourage resolve in both the United States and Israel for a certain victory.
Oh I couldn’t disagree more David. Iran is the source of this evil, yes. But Netanyahu is no Reagan. Not even close. And the visit will not do anything to strengthen resolve. That’s the problem. Those who have the resolve to continue the fight didn’t need to be reminded. And those who don’t are using Netanyahu as an excuse not to.
David, I'm more than a little lost with your application of "barbarism and civilisation" in your comment. I take it that you are satisfied that killing about 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children coupled with the displacement and rendering homeless over a million people is the apex of civilization. Or are you calling this for what it truly is, barbarism. Disproportionate community punishment and slaughter of the innocent for the sins of a few. That's a good description of barbarism.
Relax. She has no obligation to listen to a leader who was brought here by the Repubs more to score political points. This is a "leader" who has his personal agenda, wants our support, does not really listen to potential actions suggested by not only world leaders but by a sizable faction of his own people and Israeli leaders
The last time I checked he was invited by the leaders of both parties. But never mind the facts, everything is political theatre. No capable persons were ever elected, remember Senator Eugene McCarthy? Apparently he was too intelligent to be a candidate.
Well, if we are being honest, he was invited by Johnson and Schumer reluctantly went along with it. That was Act II (Schumer’s inappropriate speech was Act I)
It's really not that complicated: Israel was attacked by brutal jihadist terrorists and needs to destroy their capacity to repeat "again and again" as promised. Israel is on the front line for all of civilization in what used to be called "the War on Terror". Iran's rogue Shiite Islamist regime has clearly and often stated its goals of eliminating the Jewish state (and people) and infiltrating and undermining the United States and other Western democracies with their archaic Islamist doctrines. Hamas is the weakest of the proxies; the larger threat is Hezbollah from the North and a nuclearized Iranian puppet master. If you don't believe they're coming for us next, take a look at what's happening in Paris, Berlin, Stockholm.
The W Bush and Obama administrations tried with good intention to spread American democracy to a region of the world that operates under a different set of cultural rules and is un-suited for the rule of law. They failed. Obama retreated and seemed to think it was a great idea to (as he would say) "stand with" Iran's murderous Ayatollahs to help them "share the neighborhood" with the Sunni Arab nations, leaving them to fight among themselves so the United States could disengage from the region.
Joe Biden is a decent man and sees the justice and legitimacy of Israel as the only ray of democratic light in the region. His revulsion at Hamas and its atrocities was and still is real. Unfortunately, he's surrounded by Obama doctrine holdovers. Worse, his withdrawal from the field removes the only firewall restraining elements of the Democratic party who have made up their minds that strength and resiliency is should be assumed to be achieved at the expense of someone else's "oppression". Israel is strong (and just), so "the Palestinians" (a "people" who's only distinguishing characteristic is that the other 22 Arab nations surrounding Israel don't want anything to do with them) must be "oppressed". They are oppressed--by their own corrupt and callous leaders, not Israel.
If Democrats really care, instead of disrespecting the elected leader of our nation's closest and most indispensable ally in the "war on terror", let them show up and contribute some new thinking about how to actually improve life for the Palestinian people--and it isn't by rewarding them with a State for their brutality. Shame on Harris and Pelosi for their petty absence from the stage today.
Not only is Harris at the head of the senate as vice president, but she is also a presidential candidate. To miss the speech of a foreign leader with a lame excuse, no matter what she (or I for that matter) thinks about Netanyahu shows that she has no idea about proper behaviour for a person in her position. This, on my view, is more the kind of behaviour that befits Donald Trump!
I don’t disagree with you, Henry. I also might add a Prime Minister coming to address Congress to criticize a leader of that country in the middle of a political upheaval is also inappropriate. I wasn’t supportive of that visit in the first place, and the fact Netanyahu didn’t cancel it given everything going on shows he has no idea of proper behavior for a person in his position. This is pure political theater. So yes, while Harris should attend, it only adds to Bibi’s self-inflicted drama IMHO
Hi Daniel, I really liked your comment up to the first colon and then your last sentence. That stands alone and sums up my thoughts. The bit in-between is unhelpful.
The concept of Israel being a "most indispensable ally" is a bit of an overstatement. And the Israeli government recognises this. It's manifested in the up and coming peace deal with Saudi Arabia. The US would like to view Israel as it did prior to 1973 when Nixon beefed up aid. Indeed, the US is doing everything possible to disengage from the Middle East. Just look at the muted response to the drone attacks on the Saudi oil refineries by the Houthis. If it wasn't for such a strong New York Jewish lobby, Israel would have been ditched years ago as a fairweather friend.
The fact that Netanyahu is a most odious character doesn't take away from the fact that he's still Israel's Prime Minister speaking by invitation to the legislature in which Harris is a key official which gives her the obligation to attend, as gagworthy as it is. Some times for the sake of decorum, you have to suck it up and smile.
It looks as if in this time of BIG and consequential events, we are saddled with small actors on the world stage. And those of stature are stifled. We are witnessing an era of true anti-intellectualism. We no longer hold those self-evident truths that are so important to a free people.
I just don’t trust Netanyahu, period! He’s aligned too closely with Trump!
Netanyahu's big day indeed. He was Reaganesque and validated the need for him to come and explain the dire consequences of failing to defeat Hamas. It is truly a struggle between "barbarism and civilization."
It is shameful that so many do not understand and fail to recognize the evil in the world. And the Prime Minister articulated well his vision of victory and how to achieve it and sustain it. He told us that to secure this victory we must focus on the source of this evil--Iran.
Netanyahu's visit has the potential to encourage resolve in both the United States and Israel for a certain victory.
Oh I couldn’t disagree more David. Iran is the source of this evil, yes. But Netanyahu is no Reagan. Not even close. And the visit will not do anything to strengthen resolve. That’s the problem. Those who have the resolve to continue the fight didn’t need to be reminded. And those who don’t are using Netanyahu as an excuse not to.
David, I'm more than a little lost with your application of "barbarism and civilisation" in your comment. I take it that you are satisfied that killing about 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children coupled with the displacement and rendering homeless over a million people is the apex of civilization. Or are you calling this for what it truly is, barbarism. Disproportionate community punishment and slaughter of the innocent for the sins of a few. That's a good description of barbarism.
Hey Henry
Relax. She has no obligation to listen to a leader who was brought here by the Repubs more to score political points. This is a "leader" who has his personal agenda, wants our support, does not really listen to potential actions suggested by not only world leaders but by a sizable faction of his own people and Israeli leaders
The last time I checked he was invited by the leaders of both parties. But never mind the facts, everything is political theatre. No capable persons were ever elected, remember Senator Eugene McCarthy? Apparently he was too intelligent to be a candidate.
Well, if we are being honest, he was invited by Johnson and Schumer reluctantly went along with it. That was Act II (Schumer’s inappropriate speech was Act I)
Let’s all agree that it is nothing but a theatre. And the genre is “ tragedy” 🥲