Netanyahu at the US Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just delivered his historical address to the US Congress. This has been amazing for all sorts of reasons, not least of which is all the opposition of Barack Obama. The fact that Netanyahu came in response to Speaker Boehner’s invitation had Obama throwing a hissy fit.
But more importantly, as one Italian journalist wrote, “The Obama Administrations fomented a war on Jerusalem and treated Israel like a banana republic. Obama now wants to force Israel to submissively offer its throat to Iran’s knife.” And even more incredibly, consider the reports saying that last year Obama authorised Israeli planes to be shot down if they targeted nuclear facilities in Iran.
As one commentator said, “Obama exceeds Chamberlain by switching allegiance from ally to enemy”. He wrote:
There is no comparison between supporting the survival of a nation and defending another nation’s violent intent. One is struggling for its very life, surrounded by enemies on virtually every side. The other is a theocratic foe to western countries, expending every resource on developing methods to destroy the West. In this scenario, why does the Leader of the Free World side with the menace rather than the underdog? We are watching the unraveling of order in the world as the Obama administration turns its back on a tried ally in favor of treating with a duplicitous regime bent on destroying the West.
We got a flavour of what Netanyahu wanted to say in his speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee the day before. There he said, in part:
Ladies and gentlemen, the purpose of my address to Congress tomorrow is to speak up about a potential deal with Iran that could threaten the survival of Israel. Iran is the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Look at that graph. Look at that map. And you see on the wall, it shows Iran training, arming, dispatching terrorists on five continents. Iran envelopes the entire world with its tentacles of terror. This is what Iran is doing now without nuclear weapons. Imagine what Iran would do with nuclear weapons.
And this same Iran vows to annihilate Israel. If it develops nuclear weapons, it would have the means to achieve that goal. We must not let that happen.
And as prime minister of Israel, I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these dangers while there’s still time to avert them. For 2000 years, my people, the Jewish people, were stateless, defenseless, voiceless. We were utterly powerless against our enemies who swore to destroy us. We suffered relentless persecution and horrific attacks. We could never speak on our own behalf, and we could not defend ourselves.
Well, no more, no more.
The days when the Jewish people are passive in the face of threats to annihilate us, those days are over. Today in our sovereign state of Israel, we defend ourselves. And being able to defend ourselves, we ally with others, most importantly, the United States of America, to defend our common civilization against common threats.
As to today’s talk, we had the appalling non-appearance of Obama, Biden and scores of other Democrats. Here is part of his 40-minute speech (interrupted by applause around 40 times) given today to the joint sitting of Congress:
My friends, I’ve come here today because, as prime minister of Israel, I feel a profound obligation to speak to you about an issue that could well threaten the survival of my country and the future of my people: Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons.
We’re an ancient people. In our nearly 4,000 years of history, many have tried repeatedly to destroy the Jewish people. Tomorrow night, on the Jewish holiday of Purim, we’ll read the Book of Esther. We’ll read of a powerful Persian viceroy named Haman, who plotted to destroy the Jewish people some 2,500 years ago. But a courageous Jewish woman, Queen Esther, exposed the plot and gave for the Jewish people the right to defend themselves against their enemies. The plot was foiled. Our people were saved.
Today the Jewish people face another attempt by yet another Persian potentate to destroy us. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei spews the oldest hatred, the oldest hatred of anti-Semitism with the newest technology. He tweets that Israel must be annihilated – he tweets. You know, in Iran, there isn’t exactly free Internet. But he tweets in English that Israel must be destroyed.
For those who believe that Iran threatens the Jewish state, but not the Jewish people, listen to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, Iran’s chief terrorist proxy. He said: If all the Jews gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of chasing them down around the world.
But Iran’s regime is not merely a Jewish problem, any more than the Nazi regime was merely a Jewish problem. The 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis were but a fraction of the 60 million people killed in World War II. So, too, Iran’s regime poses a grave threat, not only to Israel, but also the peace of the entire world. To understand just how dangerous Iran would be with nuclear weapons, we must fully understand the nature of the regime.
The people of Iran are very talented people. They’re heirs to one of the world’s great civilizations. But in 1979, they were hijacked by religious zealots – religious zealots who imposed on them immediately a dark and brutal dictatorship….
Iran and ISIS are competing for the crown of militant Islam. One calls itself the Islamic Republic. The other calls itself the Islamic State. Both want to impose a militant Islamic empire first on the region and then on the entire world. They just disagree among themselves who will be the ruler of that empire.
In this deadly game of thrones, there’s no place for America or for Israel, no peace for Christians, Jews or Muslims who don’t share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone.
So when it comes to Iran and ISIS, the enemy of your enemy is your enemy.
The difference is that ISIS is armed with butcher knives, captured weapons and YouTube, whereas Iran could soon be armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs. We must always remember – I’ll say it one more time – the greatest dangers facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons. To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear weapons would be to win the battle, but lose the war. We can’t let that happen.
But that, my friends, is exactly what could happen, if the deal now being negotiated is accepted by Iran. That deal will not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It would all but guarantee that Iran gets those weapons, lots of them.
He concluded:
My friend, standing up to Iran is not easy. Standing up to dark and murderous regimes never is. With us today is Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel. Elie, your life and work inspires to give meaning to the words, “never again.” And I wish I could promise you, Elie, that the lessons of history have been learned. I can only urge the leaders of the world not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Not to sacrifice the future for the present; not to ignore aggression in the hopes of gaining an illusory peace.
But I can guarantee you this, the days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over.
We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves. This is why – this is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand.
But I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with Israel. I know that you stand with Israel.
You stand with Israel, because you know that the story of Israel is not only the story of the Jewish people but of the human spirit that refuses again and again to succumb to history’s horrors.
Facing me right up there in the gallery, overlooking all of us in this (inaudible) chamber is the image of Moses. Moses led our people from slavery to the gates of the Promised Land.
And before the people of Israel entered the land of Israel, Moses gave us a message that has steeled our resolve for thousands of years. I leave you with his message today, (SPEAKING IN HEBREW), “Be strong and resolute, neither fear nor dread them.”
My friends, may Israel and America always stand together, strong and resolute. May we neither fear nor dread the challenges ahead. May we face the future with confidence, strength and hope. May God bless the state of Israel and may God bless the United States of America.
Writing before the speech, Richard Kemp wrote,
In a few days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the US Congress for the third time. The only other foreign leader to have had that privilege was Winston Churchill. Like Churchill when he first spoke to Congress in December 1941, Netanyahu is taking a risk.
For Churchill the risk was to his life – he had to make a hazardous transatlantic voyage aboard the battleship HMS Duke of York through stormy, U-boat infested waters. For Netanyahu the risk is to his own political life and to his country’s relationship with the United States, given the intense presidential opposition to his speech.
But like Churchill was, Netanyahu is a fighting soldier and, like Churchill, a tough political leader, unafraid to shoulder such risks when so much is at stake. And in both cases, the stakes could not be higher, greater than their own lives, political fortunes or rivalries and affecting not just their own countries and the United States, but the whole of the world.
As Sharona Schwartz has noted: “Some religious leaders have noted that the same kind of break in protocol was key to the Jews’ redemption in the Book of Esther. The Jewish holiday of Purim, which this year is celebrated March 5, marks Esther’s success in her mission to thwart Haman’s destructive plan.”
Yes he may well have been raised up providentially at this crucial moment to keep alive the Jewish people, ever on the verge of annihilation by its neighbours. And as he said, to keep Israel alive also means keeping the free West alive.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191966#.VPUBHfmUf2M
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Full-text-of-PM-Netanyahus-speech-to-AIPAC-392701
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/03/full-text-netanyahus-address-to-congress/
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5302/netanyahu-congress-speech
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/02/25/why-religious-jews-see-a-parallel-between-the-netanyahu-obama-rift-on-iran-and-the-bibles-book-of-esther/
[1789 words]
Prime Minister Netanyahu shows what a true statesman and leader he is because he has never stooped to the pettiness of our present administration. By not letting his ego rule his actions, he will do great things for his country. As Americans, that we could be so fortunate to have a leader who is willing to stand up and do what is right for America.
Yes indeed. If the mad islamic nations surrounding Israel laid down their weapons, there would be peace in the Middle East. On the other hand, if Israel laid down her weapons, there’d be no more Israel.
Obama prefers to stroke the Pit Bull that would just as soon attack America, and thinks that somehow he is acting as the modern world’s greatest peace maker.
Another David in the line of warrior kings of Israel. I just can’t think of the historical precedent for a character like Obama. I hope there are future historians free to analyse the madness of America in appointing this student radical to the White House. If the black flag of Islamic State / Mordor spreads across the West, there will be no infidel historians and Obama will be celebrated as a useful servant of Islam – and subverter of the West, as he more or less outlined in his book…
Even the Saudi’s are with the PM on this one. President Obama seems to be clueless about the situation.
Wow, this is amazing. I’m totally blown away that this is replaying the events of Esther….
Thank you Bill. Thank you Mr. Netanyahu, Elie Wiesel and Ted Cruz for being mighty warriors and sentinels. The enemy has fervency and tenacity. We must have the same, we must really draw our spiritual swords from the scabbards and FIGHT – God is for us.
A great and statesmanlike speech from ‘Bibi’ and it was good to see the vocal support he was given by the thousands who heard him.
Unlike the present occupant of the White House, here is a man who speaks sincerely, with authority and conviction who does not stoop low to the level of his ‘Democrat’ opponents with petty comment.
I was struck by his phrase along the lines ‘America rightly is concerned about her security, but we are engaged in our battle for SURVIVAL!
How true that the survival of Israel as the only democratic, sane and ordered state in the ME, is essential also for the freedom of the West too.
We only breed wimpish political midgets here in the UK with very narrow party interests, no vision for the people, and no statesmanlike stature such as that of Netanyahu.
Thanks again for the appreciative comment.
Great speech of PM Netanyahu
It seems to me well-nigh impossible to conceive of a president of the USA to be so clueless about the situation. In Islam a treaty means nothing when it comes to the furtherance of Islam and has often been used to deceive an opponent in the history of Islam after the example of their prophet Mohammed. This is called the doctrine of Takkiya (deception). Can Obama with his Muslim upbringing be really so ignorant? Or is something else going on, too ghastly to contemplate?
I have just listened to the great message made by PM Benyamin Netanyahu to the US Congress and I believe he is the true leader of Israel like Moses and David and he will stand against his enemies who are roaring like a lion trying to devour his people. He courageously said, “Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. But I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with Israel. I know that you stand with Israel.”
A few days ago I prayed to the Lord God – Yahweh that He will protect the people of Israel in the last days when all the end time prophecies will be fulfilled and the Lord Jesus – the True Lion of Judah will come and when He roars; who is not afraid?
“YESHUA is called Faithful and True, and with righteousness He exercises judgment and wages war. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name He was known by is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, outfitted in fine linen, white and pure, were following behind Him on white steeds. From His mouth darts a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule over them with a scepter made of iron. He will trample the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God, the All Powerful. And there on His robe and on His thigh was written His name: King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev 19:11-16).
He will come in triumph to judge all false messiahs and demonic powers once for all and the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of Christ! Amen, Come, Lord Jesus! May the grace of the Lord Jesus – the Anointed One be with all the redeemed saints and the people of Israel!
For all his faults and shortcomings, the differance between Chamberlain and Obama is that Chamberlain didn’t have a soft spot for Nazism.
And like Churchill was in the years of WW2, Benjamin Netanyahu is now the leader of the free world.
Obama is on the wrong side of history, and has now shown he has wasted all his time as the first ‘black President’. But that was all that he ran on anyway — and hopes and dreams!
Thanks for your great work again Bill. God Bless.
Hi Bill,
Good article – thankyou for your write-up. I hadn’t heard about this, what a great speech! 🙂
Alison
Thanks for honouring Netanyahu Bill.
Re: David van Gend:
In the search for an historical precedent to match Obama. Okaaay… we need another Islamist Fabian dictator… Yeah, I see your point.
I was going to pick King Ahab, but Obama is more of a Queen Jezabel. A foreigner, in love with the enemies of Israel, hating the truth, usurping the leadership of Ahab (congress), putting on his TV face while talking down to Jehu (Netanyahu).
Yikes. This is all happening in Biblical proportions. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6
Beautifully written Bill. Let us pray that the joint sitting of congress find something special within themselves to change the course Obama has set. It seems Americans respect protocol when it comes to their own politics but they need to remove any pretense of niceness and overturn Obama’s plans. I’d love to see someone take the constitution seriously which allows the removal of treacherous tyrants like Obama.
A stirring and fantastic speech by Netanyahu! And he means what he says.
Not being present in the Congress to hear this true leader of the Free World, Obama should be ashamed of himself. The sooner you go, Obama, the better. You have barely raised a whimper to protect those who have suffered from terrorism. You have ignored the plight of persecuted Christians and other minority groups and because of your abysmal failure to do this, history will remember you only as a weakling and a disgrace. An ineffective President.
When called on to face your enemy with courage and when called upon to protect one of your staunchest allies, Israel, you failed miserably.
I hope the American people will choose a real leader like Netanyahu. God knows the American people need someone like him at this time.
John Ferwerda
Bill,
What astonishes me is that people of the West, particularly Americans cannot see Obama for what he is, a Muslim place man. A traitor in the camp. Only when you get this handle on the man does his behaviour make sense. He is an intelligent man, he knows exactly what he is doing and why. His desire is to encourage, support and strengthen Islam, destroy Israel and damage Christ’s Kingdom in any way he can. Truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Why don’t the Americans see, admit and repent that they have elected a Muslim President, not once but twice !
Blessings
Naomi
Dr James Dobson, who started Focus on the Family in the US, a man I greatly respect, when Obama was first going to be a Presidential candidate, and no-one knew anything about him, The good doctor looked up his voting record on abortion. He found that 4 times he had been given the opportunity to vote down partial birth abortion, and had failed to all four times. That makes this man a monster in my books. Dr Dobson warned us what this man was like all those years ago. Oddly, I was at the periodontist when a dental hygeinist was cleaning my teeth and gums during this time, and she insisted that I tell her what I thought of Obama. I thought this is no business of yours, but she kept insisting, so I told her I thought he was horrible. That’s when it all broke loose. She was so rough in her work that I stopped her a few times, and reluctantly let her proceed. It was so bad that I was still traumatised 2 hours later, so I wrote a letter to the head of the dental clinic. Strange. What did what I thought of Obama have to do with my dental treatment?