(WASHINGTON, D.C. – 7/25/2024) -The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) – the nation’s umbrella group of national, regional, and local Muslim American associations – today denounced war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu’s dishonest and delusional speech on Capitol Hill, where he tried and failed to dupe the American people and justify the Israeli government’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
USCMO also decries those U.S. senators and representatives who attended and applauded Netanyahu’s latest brazen attempt to directly interfere in America’s domestic political processes with a single dishonorable aim, deceive and mislead the American people, lobby our elected officials into continuing our nation’s illegal complicity in the genocide, and push our nation to go to war in other Middle Eastern countries.
We concur with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi that “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.”
In a statement, USCMO Secretary General Oussama Jammal said:
“War Criminal Netanyahu has disgraced the Congress of the United States and insulted the American people by using the people’s house to justify his government’s daily commission of war crimes and demand that we continue to arm and finance his genocidal campaign of starvation and slaughter. Bombing and burning hundreds of thousands of multiply displaced innocent women and children, and that we collude with his ultra-documented immoral imposition of starvation and water-deprivation of the Palestinians of Gaza as a means of ethnic cleansing and mass murdering them.
“Netanyahu had the temerity and sheer arrogance to spew his genocidal lies while the whole world – including even the President and especially the American people – are calling for him to accept a widely endorsed ceasefire agreement that would reportedly end his brutal slaughter of these defenseless, homeless, utterly dispossessed, and tragically aggrieved and helpless people, while also freeing hostages and political prisoners.
“We strongly condemn those members of Congress who applauded Netanyahu while he stood on the dais at the center of our democracy and maligned U.S. citizens exercising their right to protest his genocide. Shame on Netanyahu and shame on everyone who applauded his attack.”
Netanyahu’s Raft of False Claims
USMCO also noted that Netanyahu repeatedly and blatantly lied throughout his speech.
- He said U.S. intelligence has stated that Iran is funding anti-genocide protesters for Palestinian freedom in the U.S. He presented no evidence for this because there is none. However, there is plenty of evidence that the Israeli government sponsors such interference activities in the U.S. The same day as Netanyahu’s speech, 30 organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for an investigation and accountability regarding reports in The New York Times, Haaretz, The Guardian and other outlets that Israel has engaged in covert influence operations aimed at influencing America’s democratic debate and maligning critics of the Israeli government. In addition, “For years the Israel on Campus Coalition—a little-known organization with links to Israeli intelligence—has used student informants to spy on pro-Palestinian campus groups,” according to a November 2023 report in The Nation.
- He said the Israeli government had allowed “more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza … [a] half a million tons of food … more than 3,000 calories for every man, woman and child in Gaza.” But Gaza needs 1,000 aid trucks daily, according to UN experts, and this week for only a few days a new high of 86 trucks a day got into Gaza. Famine is widespread, according to an avalanche of reports from the UN and numerous world food organizations.
- He said Israeli forces have done everything possible to “get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way.” This is an utter falsehood. The fact is “deadly Israeli strikes on homes affect [kill and injure] multiple members of families on a near daily basis,” and plenty of footage shows soldiers shooting and killing Palestinians at will, including those “waiving white flags.” The Israeli government has made a staggering 37,000-plus airstrikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure (not even counting its heavy artillery and tank shelling).
Netanyahu also repeatedly lied by omission.
- He bragged about freeing 135 captives but never said all but a handful of these gained release from the short-lived November 2023 ceasefire that he has refused to permanently renew.
- He did not speak of the Israelis killed in Gaza by Israel forces, including several shots while waving white flags, or about Israelis who were, according to Haaretz and various Israeli military officials, bombed on Oct. 7th as part of Israel’s Hannibal Directive, which reportedly directs the military to kill its own rather than risk their capture.
- Netanyahu did not acknowledge the 40,000 Palestinians killed or that more than half are women and children, or that at least 1.8 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians are now displaced, most multiple times – including 150,000 fleeing Khan Younes since Monday.
- He did not mention that he has obliterated 80% of Gaza’s residences and intentionally destroyed nearly all its hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, water wells, sanitation plants, and power infrastructure – all war crimes.
- He did not say he has orphaned at least 17,000 Palestinian children in Gaza.
- He did not say he has killed at least 16,000 Palestinian children, nearly 40% of all known killed in Gaza, and the highest rate of all conflicts together in the world over the past year.
- He did not say he has blighted Gaza with the highest child-amputee rate in the world.
USCMO condemns Netanyahu and his supporters in the strongest terms and reiterates its call upon the U.S. government and the international community to immediately embargo arms sales to the Israeli government to stop this genocide.
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