A wave of anti-Israel protests took the nation’s capital by storm. Netanyahu spoke before Congress as a way to gather more support from America in his final push in Gaza.
Netanyahu took a combative stance, calling out opponents of Israel in the United States. Hundreds of protesters attempted to sabotage his stay, including pouring maggots in the dining hall. AP News says:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged in a scathing speech to Congress on Wednesday to achieve “total victory” against Hamas and denounced American opponents of the war in Gaza as “idiots,” taking a combative stance in a visit the Biden administration hopes can yield progress in negotiations to end the fighting.
Netanyahu used the high-profile address to a joint meeting of Congress to emphasize longstanding and close ties between the United States and Israel. But the speech put in sharp relief the divisions in American society stirred by the war, with dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotting the address and thousands of protesters outside the Capitol condemning the war and the humanitarian crisis created by it.
The protesters eventually burned American flags and defaced historic American monuments. Police did nothing to stop them. Newsweek continues:
The protests escalated in the afternoon, with a group outside Washington’s train station removing U.S. flags and replacing them with flags of Palestine. Videos shared on social media show the protesters burning an American flag and an effigy of Netanyahu, with some dancing in celebration as music plays.
Anti-Israel protestors burned an effigy with an American flag wrapped around it outside of Union Station,” Gary M. Collins, a journalist for the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group, wrote while sharing a video of the moment to X, formerly Twitter.
Democrats will still have to reconcile their support for both Israel and Palestine. Too much support for one side might break its coalition, while Republicans are united behind Israel.
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