On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will stand before Congress to make the case for Israel ’s battle for survival against those who seek its destruction.
His speech comes at a fateful moment for the Jewish people and the region. Though the Israel- Hamas conflict has faded from the headlines, Israel’s mission to destroy Hamas and return the hostages is not yet complete. Today, 116 hostages remain in captivity, including eight Americans. And as Israel seeks to eliminate the Hamas threat, it faces increasing dangers from Iran-backed Hezbollah in the north.
Netanyahu, who will be accompanied to Washington by freed hostage Noa Argamani and other hostage families, will need to remind Congress and the Biden administration of the stakes and the truth of this war.
His speech is even more important given the Biden administration’s tepid leadership and misleading communications throughout the crisis. In the wake of the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, President Joe Biden has proven reluctant in his support, frequently undermining Israel’s right to self-defense and even insinuating at times that it is Israel, not Hamas, that stands in the way of lasting peace.
Biden’s recent commentary on the war has been laden with calls for a ceasefire , advocacy for a two-state solution , and critiques of Netanyahu’s wartime leadership . His administration has even withheld military aid to Israel , stopping the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs. His remarks continue to advance a false and offensive narrative of moral equivalence between Hamas and the state of Israel.
In a press conference just this month, the president labeled the Israeli war cabinet as “one of the most conservative” in history, expressing disappointment over its actions while it defends its people from annihilation. He also falsely claimed Hamas is losing support in Judea and Samaria and, contrary to polling , boasted that his approval ratings in Israel are higher than in the United States.
Even more disturbing, he managed to stumble through this most recent criticism of Israel without mentioning the Israeli and American hostages still being held by Hamas.
The reality is that Hamas has rejected multiple ceasefire and hostage release deals with Israel since its Oct. 7 massacre. First, the terrorist group turned down offers from Israel in December and January. In March, Israel proposed pausing its counteroffensive in Gaza for six weeks and releasing about 700 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 40 Israeli hostages. Hamas quickly rejected this offer, too. Just this month, it again threatened to bring negotiations “ back to square one ” before loosely agreeing to a new framework aimed at facilitating an end to the fighting.
Meanwhile, tensions are escalating between Israel and Hezbollah, with exchanges of fire across the Lebanon-Israel border becoming more frequent and intense in recent weeks. In “ solidarity ” with its military ally, the Iran-backed terrorist group has been firing guided rockets and artillery shells at Israeli positions for the past nine months with no end in sight.
In short, Netanyahu comes to Washington as Israel, perhaps our closest ally, faces what is arguably the most dangerous and most consequential threat environment in its history.
As the prime minister is likely to make clear in his remarks, eliminating Hamas is the only path forward to ensure Israel’s survival and lasting regional peace.
As former U.S. Vice President and Advancing American Freedom founder Mike Pence aptly put it , Israel’s mission in this war is to achieve “absolute victory” by destroying Hamas and any other immediate existential threats, bringing the hostages home alive, and restoring regional stability and peace in the Middle East. It is in the interests of the U.S. that the war ends “when [Israel’s] military goals are achieved, and not a moment sooner.”
After Hamas is eliminated and Hezbollah is neutralized, Israel and the U.S. can return to the important work of fostering close ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors, as exemplified by the Abraham Accords . This historic pact, brokered by the Trump-Pence administration and signed by Israel with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, marked “ the dawn of a new Middle East .” The agreement importantly countered the influence of Iran, responsible for fomenting chaos and destruction across the region and beyond.
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Israel and its people are resilient, and the present crisis is certainly not the first time the country has faced down several hostile neighbors and myriad threats against its civilian population. But Netanyahu’s address on Wednesday carries new weight and importance amid the Biden administration’s misguided policies.
The best outcome of his visit, for both the U.S. and Israel, would be a renewed commitment to U.S. support for Israel’s fight to ensure its existence and the safe and immediate release of the more than 100 hostages who remain captive in Gaza. The future of the region depends on it.
Paul Teller is the executive director of Advancing American Freedom.
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