Netanyahu defends Israel and the West against ‘useful idiots’

Gratitude and purpose: These were the themes of Benjamin Netanyahu’s absolutely dazzling address to Congress on Wednesday.

Interrupted by 50 — 50 — standing ovations, Netanyahu triumphantly connected Israel’s fight in Gaza to America’s proper role in the world beyond its borders.

And he meticulously explained why the protests inside the United States in the wake of the war in Gaza served no one’s interest but Hamas and Iran.

“My friends,” he said, “if you remember nothing else from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory.”

He introduced a few heroes of Israel’s longest war — an Ethiopian Jew, a Bedouin Arab, and two amputees, one of whom is about to return to active duty to command a tank battalion. He did not make explicit what was visible: These are black and brown and light-skinned men, of different faiths, citizens of a small but astonishingly diverse state.

This was a deliberate and definitive slap at those who seem to think Israel is a “white privilege” country and a “colonial oppressor” whose people are not indigenous to the land on which they live.

“Don’t they know that Israel is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob prayed, where Jeremiah and Isaiah preached, and where David and Solomon ruled?” he demanded. “Israel has always been our home and it will always be our home.”

Like all powerful speeches, this one was designed to provide succor and strength to beleaguered supporters and give them perspectives to prevail in their own arguments with others who hold different views.

Netanyahu was appealing to American patriots who have no beef with their own country and believe it is, in fact, that last best hope of earth — and who were appalled by the nature of the protests over the past nine months.

He noted that Joe Biden’s director of national intelligence reported that a murderous misogynistic and homophobic theocracy has been playing a role in supporting the protests against Israel and addressed the protesters directly: “When the tyrants of Tehran . . . are praising promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”

The gratitude Netanyahu displayed for America’s support was canny and bipartisan. He saluted Joe Biden for having Israel’s back (though he mostly focused on Biden’s support at the beginning of the war) — and saluted Donald Trump for his role in moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and helping Israel secure historic ties with Arab countries in the Abraham Accords.

He promised victory over Hamas, by which he meant the organization’s eradication as a military, political and governing force. There was something bracing, even daring, in suggesting such a thing. Indeed, it is a mark of how profoundly the American view of war has changed that a call for victory in war seems almost radical.

America has not, in fact, been the “victor” of any major conflict it has fought since World War II. Korea ended in a standoff. Vietnam ended in a defeat. We got Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait but found ourselves at war with him 12 years later. And Joe Biden pulled out of Afghanistan.

In offering a promise of actual victory against our enemies, therefore, Benjamin Netanyahu was providing America with a gift if we’re willing to accept it: The idea that our actions, seriously undertaken and held to firmly, can actually defeat evildoers and bad actors and change the world for the better.

This is even true without, as Netanyahu pointed out, our being directly involved in the conflicts: “We help keep American boots off the ground while protecting our shared interests in the Middle East.”

What he was unable to do was announce an end to the conflict or trumpet a deal that would secure the release of the remaining hostages. He surely wanted to. But the evil Israel is combatting is holding on by its fingernails by standing on the shoulders of those kidnapped and tortured Israelis and Americans.

“The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and returns the hostages.” This is the unassailable truth.

“Thank you, America. Thank you for your support and solidarity,” he concluded. “Together we shall defend our common civilization.”

These were words it would have been good for Kamala Harris to hear. But she was busy. Talking to sorority girls.

John Podhoretz is the editor of Commentary.