Source: WallStreetOnParade.com
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to pull off a public relations coup to build support for his war in Gaza has backfired badly. On the evening before Netanyahu was set to address a joint session of Congress yesterday afternoon, one of the most respected members of the U.S. Senate, independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, took to the Senate floor to deliver a scathing breakdown of Netanyahu’s war crimes against the people of Gaza.
Senator Sanders is Jewish, making his assessment of Netanyahu’s atrocities all the more poignant. A transcript, verified by us, of Senator Sanders’ full remarks is provided below as well as a video of his full remarks.
Sanders also broke some major news in his remarks on Tuesday, stating this: “Just today, Madam President, I’m happy to say that seven major trade unions here in the United States, including the Association of Flight Attendants, the American Postal Workers Union, the International Union of Painters, the National Education Association, the Service Employees International Union, United Auto Workers and the United Electrical Workers, some of the largest unions in America representing some 6 million workers, sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to immediately halt all military aid to Israel.”
Sanders started his campaign against Netanyahu being allowed to speak to Congress more than a month ago in appearances on various news programs. On June 4, Sanders stated the following on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes”:
“I think I speak not just for myself but for a number of other Senators who think that that decision is a very, very bad one. You do not honor a foreign leader by addressing a joint session of Congress who is currently engaged in creating the worst humanitarian disaster in the modern history of this country. Obviously, as we all know, Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas terrorism in the terrible attack of October 7, but what it is doing now is going to war against the entire Palestinian people, and what we are seeing now is starvation and famine impacting thousands and thousands of children. The architect of that policy is not somebody you honor by bringing to the United States Congress, in my view.”
As a sea of thousands of protesters outside the Capitol held signs calling Netanyahu a war criminal and burning effigies of him, Republicans in the joint session of Congress repeatedly delivered thunderous applause and standing ovations to Netanyahu. At times, it felt like scenes from a sick sci-fi movie – with the people of conscience and courage in the streets being pepper-sprayed and arrested while those protected by police inside the Capitol, elected to represent the values of Americans, insanely cheering a documented war criminal.
There was one more courageous member of Congress yesterday. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a progressive Democrat from Michigan, broke ranks with fellow progressives who boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. Tlaib attended the joint session of Congress, but only to suggest that the real “useful idiots” were her colleagues that were giving standing ovations to Netanyahu as he spoke lie after lie from the podium. (Netanyahu attempted to denigrate the protesters outside by calling them “Iran’s useful idiots.”)
Tlaib had a round sign on a wood stick which she repeatedly displayed from her seat in the chamber as Netanyahu spoke. One side of the sign said “War Criminal,” the other side read: “Guilty of Genocide.”
Below are Senator Bernie Sanders remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday, July 23, 2024:
Madam President, tomorrow, Wednesday will be a unique moment in Congressional history.
Throughout the many years of our country, leaders from dozens of countries with all kinds of political backgrounds and persuasions have been invited to address a joint session of Congress.
To the best of my knowledge, however, tomorrow will be unique: in bringing Prime Minister Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress, it will be the first time in American history that a war criminal has been given that honor.
Frankly, this invitation to Netanyahu is a disgrace and something that we will look back on with regret. With this invitation, it will be impossible, with a straight face, for the United States to lecture any country on earth about human rights and human dignity.
Madam President, as you well know, along with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and several others, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been credibly accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court, the ICC. That court may soon issue arrest warrants for Sinwar and Netanyahu.
The case against Sinwar and his Hamas accomplices are clear. They were the organizers of the horrific October 7th terrorist attack on Israel that began this war and involved the mass murder of 1,200 innocent men, women, and children, the taking of hostages, and sexual violence. These war crimes are well-documented, and very few people would dispute the merits of these charges.
The ICC prosecutor’s charges against Netanyahu are also well-founded. The charges focus on the starvation of civilians as a method of war, as well as intentional attacks against the civilian population. Specifically, the prosecutor says that Netanyahu is responsible for ‘depriving [civilians] of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions.’
A separate UN independent commission of inquiry likewise found that both Hamas and the Israeli military have committed war crimes since October 7th, leading to widespread civilian deaths. The commission said the Israeli military’s ‘intentional use of heavy weapons with large destructive capacity in densely populated areas constitutes an intentional and direct attack on the civilian population, particularly affecting women and children.’
Madam President, I think we all agree that Israel had the right to defend itself against the horrific Hamas attack on October 7th. But Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has, since that attack, waged what amounts to a total war, a total war against the entire Palestinian people, making life unlivable in Gaza and killing tens of thousands. These actions have trampled on international law, on American law, and on basic human values.
Madam President, I understand that the mass media and many of us in Congress have been preoccupied in recent weeks with the awful assassination attempt against former President Trump and the changes at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket.
But while all that is going on, it is absolutely irresponsible for us to turn our backs on one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history, especially when that disaster has been aided and abetted by U.S. taxpayer dollars and weapons.
In other words, it’s not just the Israeli government. It is us and our money and our weaponry as well.
Madam President, let us be clear – let us be very clear – as to what is going on in Gaza. Since this war began, among a population of 2.2 million people, at least 39,000 Palestinians have been killed and 89,000 injured – sixty percent of whom are women, children, or elderly people. Most observers believe that the death toll is much higher, because thousands of people remain buried under the mountains of rubble. Their bodies have not yet been recovered.
Madam President, some 1.9 million people – out of a population of 2.2 million – have been driven from their homes, 90% of the population. Take a deep breath, 90% of the population driven from their homes. The vast majority of these desperate and poor people have now been displaced not once, not twice – but in some cases four or five times – herded around like cattle. Just yesterday, Israel announced another evacuation order for Khan Younis, and 150,000 people were forced to flee on a moment’s notice. Just yesterday.
Madam President, when we talk about housing in Gaza, it’s not just that people have been displaced time and time again. More than 60 percent of Gaza’s housing has been damaged or destroyed – including 221,000 housing units that have been completely destroyed. Where are these people going to go to, if and when this war ever ends?
And with that housing destruction, more than one million people have been made permanently homeless. Entire neighborhoods have been wiped out. Today, more than a million Palestinians, almost half of the population of Gaza, are living in tents, trying to find shelter, trying to find protection from the intense summer heat in that area.
Madam President, it is not just the housing that has been destroyed.
Gaza’s civilian infrastructure has also been devastated. Water and sewage systems have been made inoperable. And the result: raw sewage is running through the streets of Gaza, spreading disease, and there is very little clean water. Many roads are impassable, and there is virtually no electricity now in Gaza.
But it’s not just the housing that’s been destroyed; not just the infrastructure that has been destroyed.
Madam President, Gaza had twelve universities, schools of higher learning. Every single one of those universities has been bombed, and 88 percent of all school buildings have been damaged. In other words, under Mr. Netanyahu’s leadership, the entire educational system in Gaza has been annihilated. In fact, 540 people have been killed while sheltering, sheltering, in UN schools.
But Madam President it’s not just the housing that’s been destroyed. Not just the infrastructure of Gaza that has been destroyed. Not just the educational system which has been destroyed.
At a time when almost 90,000 people are dealing with war-related injuries in Gaza – including many, many children who’ve lost their arms and their legs, who are suffering all kinds of diseases – the healthcare system in Gaza has been systematically obliterated. Twenty-one of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are completely out of service, and the remainder can only partially function. The World Health Organization has recorded more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities since October 7th.
As a result, disease is spreading due to shortages of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. Cases of hepatitis, dysentery, and other infections are on the rise. And cases of polio have now been detected. Malnourished women struggle to breastfeed their newborns, formula is inaccessible, and even when available cannot be used without reliable sources of clean water. So, the tiniest children and their mothers suffer as well as a result.
But, Madam President, it is not just the displacement of 1.9 million people, it’s not just the mass destruction of housing, it’s not just the obliteration of the infrastructure, it is not just the destruction of the educational system, it’s not just the annihilation of the healthcare system in Gaza that we are seeing. It is even worse than that.
And I hope that my colleagues who attend Mr. Netanyahu’s remarks on Wednesday remember this as they rise, time and time again, to give him a standing ovation.
As a result of Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid, people in Gaza are now starving to death.
So, remember when people stand up and applaud: children, women, innocent people in Gaza are now starving to death….