'Guilty of Genocide': Tlaib Protests Netanyahu's Speech to Congress

Following her call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest during his visit to Washington, D.C., U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib protested the right-wing leader's Wednesday address before a joint meeting of Congress by holding up a sign reading "war criminal" and "guilty of genocide."

"They will not erase us. Palestinians exist and we deserve to live. Our presence today will be a reminder that we aren't going anywhere," Tlaib (D-Mich.) said on social media. "I will never back down in speaking truth to power. The apartheid government of Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians."

Tlaib—the only Palestinian American member of Congress—brought a guest: Hani Almadhoun, "who has lost over 150 members of his extended family in Netanyahu's genocide" in Gaza.

"After witnessing his sister forced to eat animal feed, he and his family were determined to start a soup kitchen to feed their starving neighbors," the congresswoman said. "The Israeli apartheid regime is using starvation as a weapon of war, a war crime."

More than 135 congressional Democrats, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) boycotted Netanyahu's speech.

"Netanyahu is not only a war criminal. He is a liar," Sanders said on social media. "All humanitarian organizations agree: Tens of thousands of children face starvation because his extremist government continues to block aid. Israelis want him out of office. So he came to Congress to campaign."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said, "Just so we're clear, Netanyahu has lost so many people that he is addressing just a fraction of Congress."

"When this happens, they fill the seats with nonmembers, like what they do at award ceremonies, in order to project the appearance of full attendance and support."

Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) said on social media: "I won't attend Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech today. His military has reportedly killed over 39,000 Palestinians. He hasn't brought the hostages home. He hasn't made Israel any safer. We need tangible actions to end this war and all the suffering—not performative gestures."

"It's *because* of my Jewish upbringing and values that I cannot attend Prime Minister Netanyahu's address today," she explained.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) said in statement: "I am boycotting Netanyahu's address. Today, families of Israeli hostages called the prime minister's speech a 'PR stunt' intended to cover up his own failures."

"Not only has Netanyahu failed to safely return the hostages—he has killed, harmed, or displaced nearly every Palestinian in Gaza, has failed to keep Israelis safe, and is risking the United States' own security by trying to drag us into another endless war in the Middle East," he continued.

"The United States must end unconditional military aid to the Israeli government, and instead secure an immediate cease-fire, a return of the hostages, and long-term peace," Casar added.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) wished Tlaib a happy birthday in a social media post saying, "To my sister Rashida: You were born for a time like this."

"The only Palestinian in Congress during a genocide of your people," he added. "Sitting through a speech of that war criminal as colleagues applaud. You stand strong. We love and honor you."

Stephen Miles, president of the peace group Win Without War, said in a statement that "we are grateful to the many, many members of Congress who chose to not attend Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to Congress today."

"This was a political stunt dreamed up by a House speaker trying to score political points and embraced by the prime minister as a desperate ploy to try and blunt the massive global condemnation and domestic political opposition he faces," Miles added. "It's a speech that never should have happened."

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also the Senate president, did not preside over Wednesday's meeting. Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in the wake of President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race earlier this week, is scheduled to meet privately with Netanyahu on Thursday.

Netanyahu's speech—which was met with frequent uproarious applause from lawmakers and other attendees—took aim not only at Hamas "monsters," but also against "Iran's axis of terror," which he said "confronts America, Israel, and our Arab friends."

"This is not a clash of civilizations, it's a clash between barbarism and civilization, between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life," said the leader of a nation whose armed forces have killed or wounded more than 130,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

Netanyahu condemned what he called the "slanders that paint Israel as racist and genocidal" that are "meant to demonize the Jewish state and demonize Jews everywhere."

Taking aim at pro-Palestinian protests across the United States— many of them Jewish-led—Netanyahu lamented that "many anti-Israel protesters choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers."

"For all we know, Iran is funding the protests that are taking place outside right now," Netanyahu said, citing unsubstantiated Biden administration claims. "When the tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting, and funding you, you have officially become Iran's useful idiots."

"Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming, 'Gays for Gaza,'" he mocked. "They might as well hold up signs that say, 'Chickens for KFC!'"

"These protesters chant, 'From the river to the sea,' but many don't have a clue what river and what sea they're talking about," the prime minister added.

Hundreds of Jewish-led demonstrators were arrested inside a congressional building on Tuesday while protesting the U.S. government's continued support for Israel's assault on Gaza and Netanyahu's then-forthcoming address. Thousands more protesters took to the streets of Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, where peace groups planned to surround the Capitol.

"There is a war criminal in town," Council on American Islamic Relations national executive director Nihad Awad said in a speech to protesters. "This war criminal Netanyahu has a long history of crimes against humanity."

During his speech, Netanyahu also thanked Biden "for his heartfelt support for Israel after the savage attack on October 7," which the prime minister said was "like 20 9/11s in one day."

Biden has expressed his "unwavering" support for the key Middle Eastern ally and has approved billions of dollars in new military aid and more than 100 arms sales to the country since October. The Biden administration has also vetoed several United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Netanyahu implored the U.S. to give even more, saying, "Give us the tools faster, and we will finish the job faster."

"The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and returns all the hostages," added the prime minister, who for years facilitated massive financial support for the militant resistance group—whose political arm rules Gaza—in order to weaken the Palestinian National Authority.

On Monday, Tlaib said that Netanyahu should be arrested while in the United States.

"Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people," she argued. "It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court."

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has applied for arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity including extermination committed on and after October 7.

In his speech, Netanyahu accused the ICC of "blood libels" against Israel, saying the tribunal "shamefully accused Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza"—allegations echoed by the South Africa-led genocide case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), United Nations experts, and human rights groups.

U.N. World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain said in May that there is "full-blown famine" in Gaza, where dozens of Palestinians—mostly children—have died due to malnutrition, dehydration, and lack of medical care, and hundreds of thousands of others are on the brink of starvation.

Netanyahu also accused the ICC of lying about Israeli forces "deliberately targeting civilians," over 39,000 of whom including 16,000 children have been killed since October.

The prime minister claimed that Israel "has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history, and beyond what international law requires."

"The ICC is trying to shackle Israel's hands and prevent Israel from defending itself," Netanyahu said. "And if Israel's hands are tied, America's are next."

"The hands of the Jewish state will never be shackled," he added. "Israel will always defend itself."

Netanyahu further claimed that civilian casualties during Israel's recent Rafah offensive were "practically none," ignoring hundreds of Palestinians including many women and children who died in Israeli attacks on the city and its environs, including multiple massacres of refugees in tent encampments.

Israeli forces "should not be condemned for how they're conducting the war in Gaza, they should be commended for it," Netanyahu asserted.

Israel Defense Forces troops have been accused of torturing, raping, and summarily executing Palestinian civilians, including children. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres last month added Israel to his so-called "List of Shame" of countries that kill and injure children during wars and other armed conflicts.

In addition to its ICC woes and the ICJ genocide case, the latter tribunal ruled last week in a separate case that the 57-year Israeli occupation of Palestine is an illegal form of apartheid that must end "as rapidly as possible."