Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress July 24. This will mark the fourth time that he will speak to a joint gat hearing of the legislative body, the most of any world leader in U.S. history.
“I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world,” Netanyahu said.
The invitation to speak came courtesy of a bipartisan letter sent last week and signed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Jeffries has withstood pro-Hamas elements within the Democrat Party and has remained supportive of Israel’s right to defend itself.
In their letter inviting the prime minister, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said they hoped Netanyahu would take the opportunity to “share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combatting terror, and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region”.
The speech comes as Israeli forces continue their offensive in the Gaza Strip, seeking to eradicate Hamas, a terror group that has controlled Gaza since 2007, and free the surviving hostages taken by the Palestinian extremist group in its Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Pro-Hamas demonstrators across the globe, including on numerous U.S. college campuses, have launched protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza while denying documented accounts of mass rape of women, men and children by Hamas. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry originally claimed that more than 35,000 people have died since the war began but doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. It recently reduced that number by about half, and the correction forced the United Nations to also revise its numbers downward. Over the weekend, the New York Times also made the correction though most media outlets, including the BBC, CBS, CNN and Fox News continue to use the fabricated Hamas numbers.
Regardless of the true casualty numbers, the topic will undoubtedly come up in the visit.
“We join the state of Israel in your struggle against terror, especially as Hamas continues to hold American and Israeli citizens captive and its leaders jeopardize regional security,” the letter said. “The existential challenges we face, including the growing partnership between Iran, Russia and China, threaten the security, peace and prosperity of our countries and of free people around the world.”
The congressional leaders encouraged Netanyahu to “share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combatting terror and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region.”
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice