The Economist / July 25, 2024
His fourth address to Congress was historic, but held few answers for Israelis,
The timing of Binyamin Netanyahu’s first trip abroad since Israel’s war in Gaza began over nine months ago was not propitious. The evening before the Israeli prime minister left for Washington, Joe Biden announced that he would not seek reelection as president. American lawmakers were preoccupied with domestic politics even as they welcomed Netanyahu. So, too, was the Israeli prime minister, even as he left his country behind.
Netanyahu’s address to a joint meeting of Congress was the main event, at least for him. It was a way to emphasize, both to Israelis and to the Biden administration, the support that he enjoys there. The meetings scheduled with Biden and his potential successors, Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, or Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic candidate, were afterthoughts. He had angled for the invitation for months even as tensions with the Biden administration worsened over Israel’s war. It came, at last, from the Republicans, who remain friendly towards him, and then, more grudgingly, from the Democrats many of whom were absent during his speech, including Harris. His address was received rapturously, with standing ovations, proving once again how popular Netanyahu is among Republicans. Whether that will impress Israelis is another matter.
Netanyahu used every rhetorical flourish, assuring an adoring audience that Israel and America were at war together and would win together. He told rousing tales of the bravery of Israeli soldiers on October 7th, but failed to mention how his army had been caught unawares. He supplied harrowing details of the atrocities carried out by Hamas, the group responsible for the massacres, but dismissed the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed since, contentiously insisting that the war had seen “one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatants’ casualties in the history of urban warfare”.
The address lacked policy details or a strategy, beyond “total victory”. Netanyahu said that after the war Gaza would need to be “de-militarized and de-radicalized” and governed by “a civilian administration run by Palestinians who do not want to destroy Israel”. He gave no hint as to how to achieve that. Relatives of some hostages were brought along as props; others protested in the gallery. There were all also large pro-Palestinian demonstrations outside Congress.
Netanyahu’s flamboyant oratory is unlikely to change Biden’s foreign policy in the few months he has left as president. The real audience for Netanyahu’s speech was at home. Israelis, he hoped, would rediscover their enthusiasm for him. Three-quarters currently think he should resign either immediately or as soon as the war ends. But his speech will have allayed few of their concerns: when will the hostages be released; when will tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis return to their homes near the borders with Gaza and Lebanon; and how might the debilitating war draw to a close?
The prime minister chose to leave Israel just as hopes were rising, yet again, about the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza and a deal to release the 115 Israeli hostages still held there, at least half of whom are presumed already dead. The first stage—a six-week ceasefire with a partial exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners—is within reach. Later phases, American officials hope, will end the war. Israel’s security establishment is convinced that Hamas is at last prepared to make a deal that Israel will accept.
A ceasefire would also be key to ending hostilities on Israel’s northern border with Hizbullah and with the Houthis in Yemen, two Iran-backed militias that have been attacking Israel with missiles and drones since the war began. Two-thirds of Israelis support a deal. But the minority holding out for “total victory” over Hamas are represented by Netanyahu’s main political allies, who are keeping him in power.
His visit came just as the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, begins its three-month summer recess. During the break he will almost certainly have to end his procrastination and make a call on a ceasefire. Israel’s generals are all but challenging him in public to do so. The far-right parties continue to say they will bring down his government if Netanyahu takes a deal that they see as a surrender to Hamas. When the Knesset reconvenes in late October he may no longer have a majority and early elections will be called. If he refuses the deal, he can expect huge protests led by the hostages’ families, which will reach their peak on the first anniversary of the October 7th attacks. The final vestiges of wartime unity will have been destroyed.
For the prime minister the spectacle was more important than any policy substance. Just before taking off, he reminded everyone he was going to speak to Congress for the fourth time. The mere fact that he is the first world leader to have done so, breaking a record set by Winston Churchill, is, to Netanyahu, a demonstration of his standing as a statesman capable of conjuring up support from the world’s greatest power.
This has always been the basis of Netanyahu’s appeal to Israeli voters; he launched his political career after a successful stint as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, during which he became a media star in America. To this day, it has also been the main criticism of him: that his capabilities as a leader do not match his gift of the gab. For Israel’s prime minister his address was a personal landmark. For its people it was just another speech.
