Christine Mei
On July 24, 2024, the U.S. Congress extended a grand welcome to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, a war criminal wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). This marked Netanyahu's fourth speech before the U.S. Congress, surpassing British WWII Prime Minister Churchill by one appearance.
Netanyahu's visit came nearly ten months after Israel's mass slaughter of the people of Gaza. He was invited by Republican House Speaker Johnson and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Schumer to address Congress. It is unprecedented for a war criminal to stand before Congress and deliver a 55-minute speech, attended by nearly all Republican members of both the House and Senate (with Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky being the only absentee) and almost half of the Democrats.
During this lengthy speech, all Republican members and some Democrats not only refrained from protesting when Netanyahu lied and insulted the protesters outside but also stood up to cheer and applaud 58 times. On July 24th, in this so-called temple of democracy representing the people, these elected representatives showed unthinkable reverence for someone recognized as a war criminal by most countries. I can't help but ask, what has happened to the U.S. Congress?
Were there dissenting voices in Congress?
Certainly. The main opposition came from within the Democratic Party, from members dissatisfied with Netanyahu or Biden's Middle East policy. This time, 28 Democratic senators and 100 representatives did not attend, far exceeding the 58 members who boycotted Netanyahu's speech criticizing Obama's Iran nuclear deal in 2015. Among those Democrats who did attend for electoral reasons, many displayed noticeable indifference. The only protest in action came from Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib. Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of Congress, wore a black-and-white checkered Palestinian keffiyeh and held up a sign, one side reading "WAR CRIMINAL," and the other "GUILTY OF GENOCIDE." Tlaib said she attended to make Congress acknowledge the existence of Palestinians. Seeing a person committing genocide against Palestinians being supported by her colleagues with U.S. weapons to kill her people, she could not remain silent. She wanted to tell the world that the existence of Palestinians cannot be erased.
The only Republican who did not attend was Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. He believed that Congress's invitation to Netanyahu was merely to help Netanyahu salvage his reputation domestically and internationally, and he did not want to be a prop in this drama, so he stayed away. This is highly unusual within the Republican Party.
Public Protests
Outside Congress, thousands of protesters surrounded Capitol Hill from morning till night, demanding the liberation of Palestine, an end to genocide, the arrest of Netanyahu, cessation of military aid to Israel, a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of hostages. The protesters came from all over the country, including Muslims, Asians, Whites, Blacks, many conscientious Jews, and former officials dissatisfied with the Biden administration's Middle East policy. Families of hostages in the U.S. also participated, demanding an immediate ceasefire in exchange for hostages. Some protesters said that at the beginning of the Israel-Palestine conflict, they sympathized with Israel's situation, however, after witnessing the indiscriminate killing of Gaza civilians (especially children) by Israeli forces, the destruction of Gaza into ruins, and the survivors living in a hell of homelessness, starvation, thirst, power outages, lack of medicine, and disease, their sympathy for Israel gradually faded. They were willing to risk arrest to stand with the Palestinian people.
Why Does the U.S. Congress Always Support Israel?
This time, the U.S. Congress treated Netanyahu to a higher standard than even the U.S. President when addressing Congress. Before Netanyahu entered Congress, House Speaker Johnson wrote to every representative, warning them and their guests that any disruptive actions during Netanyahu's speech would result in their forcible removal and arrest. This is why Tlaib could only hold up a sign in the venue but could not speak out.
In the past, U.S. Presidents delivering State of the Union addresses often faced vocal protests from the opposition, with no fear of arrest. In 2009, a Republican representative heckled Obama during his State of the Union speech, accusing him of lying. In 2022, a Republican representative interrupted Biden's State of the Union speech. These two representatives' impolite actions were criticized by their colleagues, but they did not face any punishment.
One can't help but ask, what gives Netanyahu the privilege to receive greater treatment than the U.S. President?
Moreover, Netanyahu's speech was filled with arrogance toward the United States. He completely disregarded Biden's hopes for a ceasefire. He came to the U.S. not for a ceasefire but to demand that the U.S. promptly supply Israel with weapons. He morally blackmailed the U.S. by saying that Israel's enemies (Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran) are also America's enemies, and Israel's victory is America's victory. In other words, the U.S. and Israel must stand together. The U.S. is obligated to support Israel.
Additionally, he showed contempt for the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of freedom of speech. He called the protesters outside Congress "Tehran's useful idiots." and suggested that Iran might be funding the anti-Israel protests. This statement was not only baseless but also an insult to the American people exercising their constitutionally protected right to free speech, especially coming from a foreigner. Who does he think he is?
He lied blatantly, claiming that the Israeli military hardly killed any civilians in Rafah and did not block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. If residents did not receive relief, it was because Hamas stole the supplies. These lies might only be believed by those living on another planet.
Why do American politicians not dare to defy his outrageous actions and Israel's demands? Why is the world's strongest country, the United States, being strangled by Israel?
This is a very complex issue, involving history, religion, geopolitics, and money. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is undeniably a highly influential lobbying group that thoroughly dominates U.S. policy on Israel and the Middle East.
What Kind of Lobbying Group Is AIPAC?
AIPAC is a pro-Israel lobbying group with extensive connections and resources, making it one of the most powerful in the U.S. In every election, it pours massive amounts of money into both Democratic and Republican candidates, helping pro-Israel candidates win. If there's an openly anti-Israel candidate, AIPAC will heavily fund their opponent to ensure the anti-Israel candidate loses. In the recently concluded Missouri Democratic primary, Cori Bush, a very progressive incumbent representative who advocated for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, was defeated by an AIPAC-backed opponent. Two months ago, Jamaal Bowman, a Democratic incumbent with similar political views to Cori Bush, met the same fate. AIPAC, through its political action committee, the United Democracy Project, spent $24 million to defeat these two individuals.
So far, AIPAC has used the same tactics to defeat candidates it deems anti-Israel, with a very high success rate. This is why, despite widespread public protest against Israel's atrocities against Palestinians, most members of Congress remain silent, or worse, like Speaker Johnson, declare that supporting Israel is following biblical teachings, and America will benefit as well.
This is the reality of American politics. AIPAC has successfully bought Congress. This is the main reason why the U.S. Congress always supports Israel.
AIPAC Babysitters
Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie recently discussed on Tucker Carlson's show how AIPAC controls the U.S. Congress members it funds. He did not take AIPAC money, but he knows that those who do are assigned an "AIPAC person" to work with them, jokingly referred to as an AIPAC babysitter. Before voting on a bill, representatives consult their AIPAC babysitters to decide how to vote. AIPAC also invites representatives and their families on free trips to Israel. When Congress chooses to fund military support for Israel, the support from these AIPAC-funded representatives is almost guaranteed. AIPAC's investment in these members is then doubly returned.
The founding spirit of the U.S. Constitution is that Congress should serve the interests of the American people, representing the will of the voters. But now, the extent of AIPAC's control over Congress has turned it into a body serving Israel, voicing for Israel. Is this not contrary to the spirit of the Constitution?
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