Netanyahu To Address Congress—How To Protect Yourself From His Hate Campaign
5 facts to debunk a credibly accused war criminal's propaganda
As you read this, some 400,000 innocent Palestinians are desperately fleeing Khan Younis—a designated safe zone—as Israel plans to resume indiscriminate bombing. Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours Israeli bombing killed 70 more Palestinian civilians in Khan Younis, and this is probably the first you heard about it.
This Wednesday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of U.S. Congress. This will be Netanyahu’s fourth time addressing Congress (1996, 2011, 2015), and this invitation comes from both Republicans and Democrats. This invite could not come at a better time for Netanyahu. He’s desperate. Polling shows more than 72% of Israelis want him out of office. The ICJ has ruled that Israel’s occupation and settlements are illegal under international law. The UN has concluded that “Israel is committing extermination” of Palestinians. And to top it off, the ICC is on the cusp of issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu for war crimes.
Undoubtedly, Netanyahu will spend his remarks focused on protecting himself and justifying his horrific bombing of Palestinian civilians. His remarks will undermine peace and justice by spewing misinformation and disinformation about his policies and the Palestinian people. This article arms you with the accurate information needed to debunk his hate and calls for more violence and war. Netanyahu’s lies will span at least five areas—don’t fall for his hate campaign. Let’s Address This.
1. Lies about the origins of Israel’s siege on Gaza
Netanyahu will claim all was well on 10/6, and Hamas attacked Israel without warning or cause—other than their hatred of Jewish people. As I’ve written before, we cannot understand 10/7 unless we first recognize the ground reality leading up to 10/7. Netanyahu will ignore those ground realities.
For example, Netanyahu will ignore Israel’s 57 year illegal military occupation of Palestinian territories for the illegal act it is. He will ignore that Hamas is not an ancient organization, but having been established only in 1987, it is a reaction to more than then 20 years of illegal occupation and land grab. And he will ignore Israel’s 700,000 illegal settlements as the violation of international human rights law that they are, as repeatedly affirmed by the United Nations, the United States, and now by the International Court of Justice.
Netanyahu will ignore that two decades of Israel’s land, air, and sea blockades on Gaza left people desperate and distressed, and violates international human rights law. He will ignore that some 9500 Palestinians are indefinitely detained in Israeli prison in what is known as administrative detention, many without charge or opportunity for release. And he will ignore that as you read this, up to 1000 Palestinian children are indefinitely detained in Israeli prison, again without charge, under so-called administrative detention. Are these innocent people not hostages, too?
Likewise, Netanyahu will ignore that in the year prior to 10/7 the Israeli military killed at least 240 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank—a death toll that included 47 children—and in fact was the deadliest year in recent history for Palestinian civilians.
Finally, Netanyahu will ignore that he deliberately propped up Hamas for years with the specific goal to undermine Palestinian statehood, regional security, and empowerment of the people of Palestine.
In short, Netanyahu will attempt to paint Hamas’ war crime attack on civilians on 10/7 as a spontaneous attack out of the blue—without any of the above history of Israeli war crimes. Don’t let him get away with that false narrative.
2. Lies about his policies during this siege on Gaza
Netanyahu will claim Israel is the “most moral Army in the world,” and will lie about his policies in Gaza. He will ignore South Africa’s documented ICJ lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide, proving intent with the very words of Israeli leadership seeking full and total destruction of Gaza and replacement of Palestinians. He will ignore the ICC’s detailed accusations against him and his Defense Minister, Gallant, for indiscriminately bombing civilians in Palestine. He will ignore that the New York Times and NBC have documented more than 200 instances where the Israeli military forced Palestinians into a confirmed “safe zone,” only to bomb that very safe zone, killing thousands of innocent civilians. And he will attempt to make the bombings of civilians, journalists, aid workers, and children seem like they were honest mistakes.
They were not honest mistakes. They were deliberate war crimes, and it is critical we do not fall for this continued gaslighting.
3. Lies about the International Criminal Court (ICC)
Netanyahu will claim the ICC is making an equivalence between Israel and Hamas—a meritless claim the ICC has already thoroughly debunked. But meanwhile, Netanyahu will ignore that Israel has illegally spied on the ICC for the past nine years, and aggressively attempted to bribe and intimidate the previous and current ICC Prosecutor. Netanyahu will claim the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel, ignoring that Palestine has been a member state of the ICC since April 1, 2015. Therefore, the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in Palestine—which Israel has committed.
The ICC, like the ICJ, is working in accordance with the rules of international human rights law, and their authority must be respected if we truly claim “no one is above the law.”
4. Lies about how this conflict can be resolved
Netanyahu will claim “all that needs to happen for this war to end is for Hamas to release the hostages.” But we know this is false, as even the current offer President Biden announced is one Netanyahu himself rejected less than an hour later—specifically because Netanyahu wants to continue to bomb Gaza indiscriminately.
CNN likewise reported, "Less than an hour after Biden detailed the Israeli proposal, Netanyahu’s office insisted Israel would not end the war until Hamas is defeated and all its goals are achieved.” Moreover, the very families of hostages are now openly accusing Netanyahu of giving up on the hostages, unless it can benefit him personally. “Netanyahu won’t agree to hostage release deal unless it polls well for him, Israeli families say they were told, adding, “The Israeli government made a conscious and deliberate decision to sacrifice the hostages,” the Hostage Family Forum said.” In fact, Netanyahu has had the audacity to demand ceasefire while also demanding the right to continue to bomb Palestinians.
This conflict will truly resolve with a permanent and lasting ceasefire, an unconditional release of all hostages from both sides, an end to Israel’s military occupation of Palestine, an end to Israel’s illegal settlements in Palestine, an end to Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, a sovereign Palestinian state, a prosecution of all war crimes in front of the ICC, and a rebuilding of Gaza and the West Bank.
5. Lies about his critics
Netanyahu will likely lean heavily into claiming criticism of him, of the Israeli government, and of how Israel has conducted its bombing of Gaza is all rooted in antisemitism. While antisemitism must never be tolerated, condemning war crimes is not antisemitism—it is pro justice.
It should shock the conscience that in addition to banning journalists altogether, the Israeli government has killed more than 108 journalists and media workers reporting from inside Gaza. Indeed, it is no wonder that numerous Jewish organizations are loudly condemning Netanyahu’s injustices, rejecting the claims of antisemitism, and demanding justice for Palestine.
In Conclusion
This is not an exhaustive list, but I’d be surprised if Netanyahu does not at least touch on all five of these at some point, among others, during his July 24 address. Vice President Kamala Harris has a key opportunity to distance herself from her predecessor’s abysmal policy on Palestine. She can stop arming Israel to bomb Palestinians, stop excusing Israeli war crimes, and start enforcing the binding UN Security Council resolution mandating complete ceasefire and release of all hostages.
Pay close attention to which members of Congress boycott Netanyahu’s speech, and which members attend. Those who attend send a message that war crimes are not a deal breaker. Indeed, it is a shame that American political leadership has made a bipartisan commitment to invite a credibly accused war criminal to address a joint session of Congress. Doing so does nothing to benefit the American people, further harms Palestinians, and does not make Israel any safer. One thing is for sure, however, that this invitation has emphatically debunked the claim that the United States is committed to an international rules based order.
And that reality is devastating for the prospect of international peace and justice.
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Netanyahu is a terrorist, plain and simple. He should be arrested as a war criminal and certainly should not be allowed to address Congress!
Thanks for the tools. Armed with them and ready for the lies to come. There will be many of them.