Washington, DC – Jamal Abdi, President of the National Iranian American Council, issued the following statement regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest address before a joint session of Congress:
Back to top“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disgraced the U.S. Congress today by blatantly lying about Israel’s war crimes and systematic killing and starvation of innocent Palestinian civilians. He banged the war drums repeatedly against Iran, and cast his government’s efforts to sabotage U.S. diplomatic efforts to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran as some kind of great service to the American people.
“Netanyahu never should have been given the honor of addressing the U.S. Congress a fourth time. Instead, he should be defending himself from charges of war crimes at the Hague. His government also needs to be investigated for engaging in illegal influence campaigns targeting Americans. Yet he was given a platform, and used it to falsely smear and delegitimize Americans who engaged in the democratic act of protest as Hamas sympathizers, Iranian agents, and traitors. He was given a platform to impugn international law and judges, as well as American academics. These are the words of a wannabe fascist, not a hero who should be applauded by our elected officials.
“Nobody should fall for this war criminal’s naked lies. Iran and the U.S. are not destined to be at war, Israel’s actions have made the region much more dangerous including for the United States, and in no way would an expansion of the brutal war in Gaza across the region serve any interest.
“Netanyahu is the author of much of Israel’s insecurity, as well as threats to America’s security in the region. The way forward is not the fiction spun by Netanyahu today. President Biden must use his significant leverage to demand an immediate ceasefire, and return to the only successful playbook that has reduced threats from Iran – serious diplomacy.”