ACTION ALERT:
Cancel PM Netanyahu’s Address to Congress
Win Without War
(July 19, 2024) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is about to use a high profile congressional address to distract the world from the fact that his government has spent the last nine months bombing and starving people in Gaza.
This invitation was a bad idea when congressional leadership invited PM Netanyahu to give the speech earlier this summer. With violence rapidly increasing across the Middle East, it remains a bad idea still. Prominent Israelis — including a former prime minister, Nobel laureate, and former intelligence chief — are ready to tell you why.
In a powerful New York Times essay, they argue their PM’s speech “will not represent the State of Israel and its citizens, and it will reward his scandalous and destructive conduct toward our country.”
They’ve urged Congress to rescind the invite altogether. Now, that is a good idea.
Right now, the list of members of Congress who have committed to skip or are considering skipping the speech is growing. That’s a critical, urgently needed first step at pushing back on the pro-war politicking we’re sure to see. But a stronger one?
Withdrawing PM Netanyah’s invite and avoiding a PR disaster that further entrenches partisan divides and rewards Netanyahu’s aggressive policies and disregard for international law altogether.
The eruption of new violence in Israel and Yemen this week only reinforces the dire need for a ceasefire.
Right now, starvation continues to be used as a weapon of war in Gaza and the suffering and death toll there is rising. Fighting is worsening on the Israel-Lebanon border. In the face of all this, however, PM Netanyahu continues to ignore demands from millions of people — including hostages’ families and thousands of Israelis — to find a diplomatic solution that can end the violence, bring loved ones home, and build true security.
That’s why congressional leadership made a grave mistake in inviting him to address a joint session on July 24. This misguided invitation threatens to legitimize policies that have led to unprecedented suffering and loss of life across Israel, Palestine, and beyond, while undermining efforts for a critically needed ceasefire.
PM Netanyahu’s address would be a slap in the face to every victim directly harmed by his disastrous policies in Israel and Palestine, every community mourning loved ones, and every advocate for peace and human rights. But it doesn’t have to happen. By speaking out today you could help make this the moment when champions for peace in Congress show up to right the course by rescinding an invite that should never have been extended.
Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team
1. The New York Times, “We Are Israelis Calling on Congress to Disinvite Netanyahu”
Calling on Congress to Disinvite
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
New Israel Fund
(July 12, 2024) — On June 26, the New York Times published an op-ed by a handful of prominent Israelis entitled “We are Israelis Calling on Congress to Disinvite Netanyahu.” One of them was former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak. Another was the esteemed novelist David Grossman. The effort was organized by a third author, Talia Sasson who is NIF’s former board president and current co-chair of NIF’s International Council.
The article called on Congressional leaders to rescind the invitation extended to Netanyahu to come speak to Congress on July 24, 2024.
Talia and her co-authors wrote that Israelis would normally consider the invitation “a welcome gesture from our closest friend and ally.” But not now. Netanyahu, they argue, should not address Congress because he and his government have lost the confidence of the Israeli public. Despite his public posturing, Netanyahu has repeatedly rebuffed U.S.-led efforts to resolve the conflict in Gaza and return Israeli hostages. He has articulated no plan whatsoever for what happens in Gaza after the war ends.
Even if the war’s aims are successful—a big if—the humanitarian crisis and power vacuum left behind will wreak havoc for generations. And, they write, in order to remain in power, Netanyahu has allowed the government’s rightward lurch to continue unabated—from undermining democratic norms, to ignoring the needs of Israelis evacuated from border areas while rushing support for ultra-Orthodox institutions, to turning a blind eye to anti-Palestinian settler violence.
Following Talia and her co-authors’ lead, the New Israel Fund invited Americans to ask Congressional leaders to listen to the voices of these patriotic Israelis and cancel the Netanyahu address. NIF will deliver this letter with all of the signatures to the top four leaders in Congress.
ACTION: Click here to add your name to the letter before it is too late.
A protest is also being organized in Washington, DC, near the Capitol Building at noon on July 24, 2024. Follow UnXeptable on Facebook for more information on this protest.
