Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an address to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday afternoon, a speech that shook Washington, divided Democrats and inflamed the political divide over the Israel-Hamas war.
The address — Netanyahu’s fourth since 1996 — came more than nine months into the conflict in Gaza, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
Netanyahu discussed the October offensive in detail, warned about the threat posed by Iran and urged Americans to come together in support of Israel, the U.S.’s closest ally in the Middle East.
Here are five memorable moments from Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who has been highly critical of Netanyahu and Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza, was in the chamber during the prime minister’s speech on Wednesday and made her presence known — albeit silently.
Tlaib — the only Palestinian American serving in Congress — held up a sign that said “war criminal” and “guilty of genocide” several times throughout Netanyahu’s speech, a quiet protest that was noticed throughout the chamber.
“I will never back down in speaking truth to power,” she wrote on the social platform X after the speech. “The apartheid government of Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. Palestinians will not be erased. Solidarity with all those outside of these walls in the streets protesting and exercising their right to dissent.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) approached Tlaib on the floor, as the speech was ongoing, and asked her to put the sign down, according to a source familiar with the matter.
At one point, Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) walked over to the pair “to de-escalate if need be,” he told The Hill.
“They were talking through their issues calmly, so I went and sat back down,” he added.
Tlaib’s presence in the chamber raised eyebrows, with many expecting her to skip the event overall. In a post on X before the speech, the congresswoman said she was attending with her guest, Hani Almadhoun, who she said lost more than 150 family members in the war in Gaza.
Tlaib was censured in November for her criticisms of Israel following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
While Tlaib protested Netanyahu’s speech with her sign, other Democrats showed their opposition to the Israeli prime minister by skipping the address altogether.
At least 30 House Democrats and a handful of Senate Democrats announced before the speech that they would not attend the address. Some opted to meet with families of hostages held by Hamas and attend a panel discussion focused on a path to peace.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was one of the most notable names to skip the event, and she ripped Netanyahu’s speech in a statement after.
“Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber today was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States,” she wrote on X.
Protests, meanwhile, took place inside and outside the Capitol.
U.S. Capitol Police said it arrested six people in the chamber. Or Gat — whose mother was killed on Oct. 7, whose sister is still held in Gaza and whose brother was arrested Wednesday — told The Hill that all six of those detained were family members of hostages. They were released later in the day.
At Union Station — just blocks from the Capitol — protesters removed American flags from the poles and replaced them with Palestinian flags and graffitied “Hamas is comin,” “free Gaza” and “all zionists are bastards” on a statue outside the station.
Pro-Palestinian protesters — both on and off college campuses — have made their discontent with the Israel-Hamas war known for months.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu took them on directly, arguing that they are on the side of “evil,” attacking their intelligence and, at one point, referring to them as “Iran’s useful idiots.”
“Incredibly many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers,” Netanyahu said. “They should be ashamed of themselves.”
He then spoke directly to protesters in Washington.
“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,” Netanyahu said.
At one point, the prime minister called out signs that read “gays for Gaza.”
“Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘gays for Gaza.’ They might as well hold up signs saying ‘chickens for KFC,’” he said. Same-sex conduct is banned in Gaza, according to Amnesty International.
Netanyahu gave a shoutout to the fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who drew headlines when they held up an American flag during a pro-Palestinian protest on campus.
“And I wish to salute the fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina who protected the American flag, protected the American flag against these anti-Israel protesters,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Netanyahu exchanged head nods — not a handshake — ahead of Wednesday’s speech, an icy moment that reflects the tense relationship between the two.
The tensions between Netanyahu and Schumer were heightened after the Democratic leader, in a high-profile floor speech, called for new elections in Israel and declared that the prime minister had “lost his way.”
Netanyahu responded, calling the remarks “totally inappropriate.”
Despite that, Schumer ended up signing the invitation for Netanyahu to address Congress — though after a delay. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) previously told The Hill that he sent Schumer a draft invitation in April, but the majority leader waited weeks before signing it.
Vice President Harris and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) did not attend Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday, absences that were noticed in the chamber.
Harris, who is running for president after President Biden dropped out of the race this weekend, did not preside over the chamber during Netanyahu’s address because she was traveling to Indianapolis for a previously scheduled address, an aide for the vice president said. She will, however, meet with Netanyahu on Thursday, separate from Biden’s sit-down with him.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, filled in her spot.
Vance — who former President Trump has selected as his running mate — was also not in attendance because he had “duties to fulfill as the Republican nominee for vice president,” Jason Miller, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said earlier this week.
“Senator Vance stands steadfastly with the people of Israel in their fight to defend their homeland, eradicate terrorist threats, and bring back their countrymen held hostage,” he added.
Democrats criticized Vance’s absence while Republicans slammed Harris for missing the event.
Laura Kelly contributed.
