On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did what Joe Biden and Donald Trump could not. He unified Congress.
From the moment his name was first uttered as he was gavelled into the House chamber, to the moment he left the room with Republicans latched onto his coattails, Netanyahu was applauded. And applauded. And applauded. Often by both sides of the aisle.
From my seat in the press gallery overlooking the affair, my attention was as much drawn towards Netanyahu’s words as they were to America’s elected officials taking them in.
While Republicans were more zealous in their enthusiasm for the man who may face arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court, Democrats (among the roughly half who were not absent in protest) shared their fair share of applause too. Senators including John Fetterman (Penn.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), and Joe Manchin (W.V.) and House Representatives like Ritchie Torres (N.Y.) and Jared Moskowitz (Fla.) were eagerly cheering on the leader accused by scores of human rights organizations of facilitating and overseeing war crimes. …more
