On July 24, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a lengthy speech on the ongoing situation between Israel and Palestine to the Congress.
In his opening remarks, Netanyahu employed a rhetoric of dehumanization and alienation of Palestinians, downplaying the genocide and his war crimes by framing them as a battle between “barbarism and civilization.” He portrayed Palestinians as an eternal threat to the security of a stable democracy in the Middle East.
However, one crucial point was unmistakably clear: his entire speech was replete with lies and disinformation.
The disinformation in Netanyahu’s speech
These are the falsehoods that the Israeli prime minister was lauded for, despite the fact that Congress should be well aware of the truth.
Claims: “They [Hamas] raped women, they beheaded men, they burnt babies alive. They killed parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents.”
Facts: According to reports from Al Jazeera’s investigative unit and Soch Fact Check, there is no evidence that Hamas burned babies alive. Additionally, allegations of women being raped by Hamas were retracted by the original sources, who admitted their misinterpretations.
As for men being beheaded, Idan Sharon-Kettler, deputy commander of the Israeli forces’ enemy equipment collection unit, emphasized on November 21, 2023, the sophisticated nature of Hamas’s arsenal, which included AK-47s, thermobaric explosives, and Shawaz anti-tank grenades. Given this advanced weaponry, the notion that Hamas could have committed the “ISIS-style decapitations” they are accused of is implausible, as this action would require weapons like swords or axes, which Hamas’s brigades were not evidenced to have at their disposal during their operation.
Besides, no captives held by Hamas have been beheaded since October 7. If anything, Israeli hostages were killed by Israeli bombs.
Claim: “I asked him [a commander in Rafah], 'How many civilians were killed?' He said, 'Prime Minister, practically none — with the exception of a single incident, where shrapnel from a bomb hit a Hamas weapons depot and unintentionally killed two dozen people.' The answer is practically none.”
Fact: Amnesty International revealed earlier on February 12 that Israel targeted Rafah four times in the “safe zone”, killing at least 95 Palestinian civilians, half of them are children. During those four times, not a single time was one of the targets identified as military targets.
Claim: “The ICC prosecutor accuses Israel of deliberately targeting civilians. What in God’s green earth is he talking about? The IDF has dropped millions of flyers, sent millions of text messages, made hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way.”
Fact: Palestinians endured multiple evacuations, facing continuous Israeli attacks from Northern Gaza to the crowded confines of Rafah. An in-depth analysis by Sky News described the Israeli forces’ evacuation orders as “chaotic and contradictory.”
Claims: 1) “They [protesters] refuse to make the simple distinction between those who target terrorists and those who target civilians, between the democratic State of Israel and the terrorist thugs of Hamas;” 2) “The war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatant casualties in the history of urban warfare.”
Facts: Beyond the staggering death toll of over 39,000 Palestinian civilians, if not more, Oxfam reported on January 11 that Israeli forces were killing 250 Palestinians daily. “Using publicly available data, Oxfam calculated that the number of average deaths per day for Gaza is higher than any recent major armed conflict including Syria (96.5 deaths per day), Sudan (51.6), Iraq (50.8), Ukraine (43.9) Afghanistan (23.8) and Yemen (15.8).”
Claim: “The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has shamefully accused Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza. This is utter, complete nonsense. It’s a complete fabrication.”
Fact: On April 1, the United Nations reported that Israel was obstructing aid to Palestinians in Northern Gaza. Then, on May 7, Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized Israel for defying the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) orders to allow humanitarian assistance. “Despite children dying from starvation and famine in Gaza, the Israeli authorities are still blocking aid critical for the survival of Gaza’s population in defiance of the World Court,” stated Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at HRW. “With each day that Israeli authorities block lifesaving aid, more Palestinians are at risk of dying.”
On May 14, HRW disclosed that Israeli forces had targeted aid convoys around eight times ever since October 7.
Claim: “Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building—not that many, but they’re there—and throughout the city.”
Fact: U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines cautioned protesters against being misled by those with ulterior motives. “I want to be clear that I know Americans who participate in protests are, in good faith, expressing their views on the conflict in Gaza – this intelligence does not indicate otherwise,” she stated. “Moreover, the freedom to express diverse views, when done peacefully, is essential to our democracy, but it is also important to warn of foreign actors who seek to exploit our debate for their own purposes.”
This is enough proof that anti-Zionist protesters are not, by design, agents of Iran, contrary to Netanyahu’s insinuations in his speech.
Claim: “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.”
Fact: Pro-Palestinians have extensively clarified that the meaning behind the slogan “from the river to the sea,” refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. They have provided thorough explanations on multiple occasions. They have also presented the Zionist perspective, which sounds diabolical, to say the least.
Claim: “The day after we defeat Hamas, a new Gaza can emerge. My vision for that day is of a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza. Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza.”
Facts: Israel’s genocidal rhetoric provides ample evidence that they seek the eradication of Gaza in its entirety. The Israeli Prime Minister attempted to justify the mass killings of Palestinians by labeling them as “Amalek.”
However, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, told Mother Jones in November 2023 that rabbis generally agree that Amalek no longer exists and that invoking this term does not stipulate a morally acceptable justification for attacking any human being.
Besides, Israeli forces were recorded explicitly declaring their intention to flatten Gaza.
News from December 2023 on Vox Political also suggests that Israel’s long-term plan for the area involves transforming it into beachfront properties for Israelis.
How Netanyahu makes Congress side with him even with lies
The Israeli Prime Minister frequently employs tactics that emphasize the otherness and dehumanization of Palestinians to foster a sense of community and belonging with the American population.
Throughout his speech, Netanyahu leaned heavily on the concept of “us versus them.” This was evident in statements such as, “For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together. Because when we stand together, something very simple happens: We win, they lose,” and “My friends, if you remember one thing, one thing from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory.”
By demonizing Palestinians and framing the Israel-Palestine crisis as a struggle between “barbarism and civilization” and downplaying the ongoing genocide, Netanyahu taps into deeply rooted preconceived notions, making those who are already predisposed to such views remain complacent with falsehoods that align with their existing comfort zones.
When Netanyahu saw his speech was received with rounds of applause from those in Congress, he made his stance on the situation clear in his speech: no ceasefire deal is on the horizon. His primary objective appeared to be securing more weaponry from the United States. “Today, as Israel fights on the frontline of civilization, I too appeal to America: ‘Give us the tools faster, and we’ll finish the job faster.’”
Our role
As politicians vie for victory in this year’s presidential elections, we must remain vigilant and demand that any changes in rhetoric are matched by corresponding actions. Mere words are no longer sufficient.
Recognizing Israel’s ability to sway nations through rhetoric and manipulation is crucial as we vote for those representing us. Choosing the lesser of two evils is no longer an acceptable option.
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