Beware of the Claim That Prime Minister Netanyahu Doesn’t Represent Israel

A month from now, Israel’s democratically elected prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will make history by addressing for the fourth time a joint meeting of the Congress. Mr. Netanyahu is speaking at the initiative of Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, with an official invitation from both Mr. Johnson and the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, extended to “highlight America’s solidarity with Israel.”Unfortunately, there are some who wish to play petty politics with what friends of Israel in both houses and parties say will be a “vision for defending democracy, combatting terror and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region.” Led by a former prime minister, Ehud Barak, a small group of Israelis has called in the Times for the invitation to be rescinded — though Mr. Barak and his ideological kin were electorally rejected in recent years.So it is the height of absurdity that their main claim is that Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving premier, does not represent the public of the Jewish state. They further claim that Netanyahu “has failed both to come up with a plan to end the war in Gaza and free the scores of hostages. He has pushed back on President Joe Biden’s plan to end the conflict and replace Hamas with a ‘peace-keeping force’ — clearly a dressed-up expression disguising their true desire to implement the Palestinian Authority.”As we know, the PA was also implicated in the October 7 massacre, has lauded it, and provides a handsome monthly stipend to those who butchered and raped innocent people on that dark day. This is a historic and existential challenge for Israel, as it continues to fight against enemies on several fronts whose sole aim is the elimination of the ancestral and indigenous homeland of the Jewish people. This is not solely a war against Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Shiite terror groups in Iraq and Syria. Israel is fighting for its life against a bloodthirsty Iranian plot to destroy the Jewish state. The Islamic Republic is so dedicated towards this goal that they built a “countdown to Israel’s annihilation clock” in Tehran, which has the goal of an end to the Jewish State by 2040.In these critical moments, Israel hopes to meet these challenges alongside its greatest allies, led by America. Poll after poll has demonstrated that the American people stand by Israel’s side, and support for the only Jewish State has only grown since October 7. The American people know that Israel is not fighting just for its own survival but is on the front lines of the war against the entire free world. A few weeks ago, the head of the Muslim brotherhood in Israel, Sheikh Raaed Salah, laid this out clearly when he was asked what would happen the day after the war against Hamas in Gaza. Sheikh Salah replied that this is not the relevant question. Rather the question should be what will become of America the day after. In this statement Salah offered a glimpse of the simple truth behind this war, that fundamentalist Islam will not settle with merely destroying Israel, its end game is to defeat the entire free world led by the United States. In the streets of Tehran, the Ayatollahs encourage the daily chanting of “Death to Israel, Death to America.” They call Israel the “Little Satan,” whereas America is referred to as the “Big Satan.”For Iran and its proxies, Israel is merely the first wall to overcome on the road to the United States. Therefore, when Mr. Netanyahu speaks to Congress, his remarks will not just represent the will of the people of Israel, but also for the values of freedom, liberty and democracy in the face of an annihilationist worldview. Like many democracies around the world, Israel holds many profound disagreements on a host of issues.Nevertheless, there is little disagreement on these fundamental points. That Israel must win and should be assisted by its allies who are also targets of the same enemy. The attempt by Mr. Barak and others to delegitimize the prime minister in front of the world is undemocratic. They do not have a vision of a safe and secure Israel, and failed to convince the Israeli public who rejected them and their ideology at the polls even before October 7. Unfortunately, some who support their policies will still give them a soapbox. The vast majority of the Israeli public supports the continuation of the war until the absolute destruction of Hamas and the return of all the hostages. The public in Israel objects to a ceasefire agreement before its objectives are achieved, because they believe Hamas when it says that it will perpetrate October 7 again and again.Every single survey held in Israel over the past few months points out clear public support for these positions promoted by Mr. Netanyahu. The challenge Israel faces is immense, but we have faith that we will meet it, with the help of our friends and allies. We resolutely believe that the strong alliance between Israel and America is vital for both countries and should overcome any disagreements. The bipartisan support of Israel is extremely important, and we thank congressmen and senators from both parties for working to invite the Prime Minister of Israel to this important stage, because they know his office represents all of Israel.

Beware of the Claim That Prime Minister Netanyahu Doesn’t Represent Israel

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