Dick Durbin: Netanyahu 'Should Have Had The Good Sense To Decline' Invitation To Speak In Congress

3 months ago

During remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Israeli Prime Minister should have declined the invitation to speak before Congress.

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Transcript

00:00Mr. President, later today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a

00:05joint session of Congress.

00:07I believe this invitation to speak was ill-timed, and one which the Prime Minister should have

00:12had the good sense to decline.

00:15But if there's one thing we know about Prime Minister Netanyahu, it's that he never misses

00:19an opportunity to further his political agenda.

00:22Let me be clear.

00:23There are nations and proxy groups that seek to destroy Israel, and that is not something

00:28we can or ever should take for granted.

00:32We've seen this with horrific slaughter by Hamas on October 7th, the subsequent Iranian

00:38missile barrage, the ongoing attacks by Hezbollah, and the continuing holding of innocent Israeli

00:44hostages, including Hirsch Goldberg Poland, with ties to my state of Illinois.

00:49That is why I have long supported helping Israel in its self-defense.

00:54But let me also make clear that support for Israel's right to exist is not a blank check

00:59for extremist policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

01:03Even before the October attack, Netanyahu was pursuing a deeply troubling agenda, compelled

01:09by his self-interest desire to hold together his far-right coalition and avoid legal problems.

01:15He enabled illegal settlement expansion, entertained outrageous proposals to annex the West Bank,

01:22advanced policies that would have undermined Israel's judicial independence, and ignored

01:27any long-term vision for peace with the Palestinians.

01:31Pressure from Israel's friends, including President Biden, to rethink those policies

01:35was often brushed aside or manipulated to create domestic political support in Israel.

01:42Tragically, it's been clear for years that neither the current Israeli nor the current

01:47Palestinian leadership has a vision or political will to find a lasting peace for two people,

01:53with tragic consequences.

01:55Shortly after the October 7th attack by Hamas, many of us warned our Israeli friends to learn

02:00from our own mistakes we made in the fog of rage and pain following September 11th, 2001.

02:09But I fear these lessons have been lost upon Netanyahu, and the cost for Israel and Palestinians

02:14alike given the heartbreak.

02:17Netanyahu has failed to create a post-conflict plan, has ignored increased settler violence

02:22in the West Bank, and extremists blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

02:29When I think about the right of Israel to exist, it is pretty clear to me, start to finish,

02:34that is a basic foundational position to take.

02:38The right to defend themselves?

02:40Of course.

02:41September 7th has proved positive that that's necessary.

02:44But you take a look at the course of the war in Gaza ever since.

02:4839,000 innocent Palestinians have died.

02:5390,000 have been injured.

02:56The scenes that come back to us from what is happening in Gaza are heartbreaking.

03:00To think what these children are dying of famine and starvation because they stopped

03:08the shipments of humanitarian aid into Gaza in a regular orderly way.

03:14That is unacceptable.

03:15In the end, I fear the devastating civilian toll in Gaza will not only be judged a moral

03:20and humanitarian calamity, but a likely strategic failure by the Israelis as well.

03:27I have long supported a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

03:32In fact, out of the terrible Yom Kippur War came an unimaginable yet lasting peace between

03:38Egypt and Israel.

03:40So with the right leaders on both sides, it can be done.

03:43The United States has a responsibility for a renewed push on all sides toward this goal,

03:48one in which Israel and Palestinian children can once and for all live together in peace

03:53and dignity.

03:54A pending ceasefire that would see hostages released, humanitarian aid increased, and

04:00eventually lead to desperately needed outcomes seems finally within reach.

04:04Last night at the invitation of Ben Cardin, our colleague from Maryland, I met with some

04:09of the hostage families here in the capital.

04:11I cannot imagine what it must be like, many of them wondering if the person that they

04:17love, their sons, their daughters, their wives, their friends, are even alive today.

04:24Unimaginable.

04:25We've got to bring this to an end, and a ceasefire agreement with Hamas is the only way to get

04:30that done.

04:31Instead of stirring the same old pot, I urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to share such a vision

04:37for the future when he speaks to the United States Congress today.

04:41I yield the floor.

Dick Durbin: Netanyahu 'Should Have Had The Good Sense To Decline' Invitation To Speak In Congress

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