Netanyahu makes controversial address
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress denounced Gaza war protestors
What happened
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a rare address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday amid ongoing protests over Israel's war in Gaza.
Who said what
Netanyahu lauded the U.S.-Israeli relationship while lambasting the large demonstrations across Washington, D.C. over his presence. "For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now, outside this building," Netanyahu said. He earned his "biggest cheers" for calling protesters "Tehran's useful idiots," The New York Times said.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who is Palestinian American, attended Netanyahu's speech, holding a sign reading "war criminal" and "guilty of genocide." Many other high-profile Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), were not in attendance, with "around half" of each of the Democratic caucuses "absent," said Andrew Solender at Axios.
Heading into his speech, Netanyahu had to contend with a "new balancing act, appealing to the new, potentially more progressive face of the Democratic Party while not antagonizing Trump," The Wall Street Journal said.
What next?
Despite skipping his address on Wednesday, Harris is scheduled to join President Joe Biden for a bilateral meeting with Netanyahu today. Netanyahu will then meet Donald Trump on Friday. Their once-glowing relationship has "grown tense in recent years following the 2020 election," Politico said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The best dark romance books to gingerly embrace right nowThe Week Recommends Steamy romances with a dark twist are gaining popularity with readers
-
The ocean is getting more acidic — and harming sharks’ teethUnder the Radar ‘There is a corrosion effect on sharks’ teeth,’ a study’s author said
-
6 exquisite homes for skiersFeature Featuring a Scandinavian-style retreat in Southern California and a Utah abode with a designated ski room
-
Can anyone stop Donald Trump?Today's Big Question US president ‘no longer cares what anybody thinks’ so how to counter his global strongman stance?
-
How Iran protest death tolls have been politicisedIn the Spotlight Regime blames killing of ‘several thousand’ people on foreign actors and uses videos of bodies as ‘psychological warfare’ to scare protesters
-
The Board of Peace: Donald Trump’s ‘alternative to the UN’The Explainer Body set up to oversee reconstruction of Gaza could have broader mandate to mediate other conflicts and create a ‘US-dominated alternative to the UN’
-
Israel’s E1 zone in the West Bank: the death of the two-state solution?The Explainer Controversial new settlement in occupied territories makes future Palestinian state unviable, critics claim
-
‘The security implications are harder still to dismiss’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
‘Let 2026 be a year of reckoning’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
