I heard there was some big scandal about Netanyahu’s speech in Congress. I watched it to see for myself.
Admittedly, I don’t watch a lot of political speeches. I don’t believe I’ve watched any since the Trump administration. Still, I saw nothing wrong with Netanyahu’s speech. The delivery was clear and strong, the structure worked, the quotes were not abundant and to the point. One joke didn’t land but it’s not a big deal since humor is hard to get right even in one’s own language.
Netanyahu expressed admiration and gratitude to his hosts. In fact, he did it many times and very strongly. He thanked both Biden and Trump, which is appropriate because a foreign dignitary should not take partisan positions in a country where he’s invited to speak. As long-time readers know, I like Netanyahu only slightly more than a bout of diarrhea but nothing rubbed me wrong during this speech.
It looks like people have gotten so deep inside their heads that they honestly believe a good speech is one where the speaker expresses not his beliefs but theirs. If he doesn’t say exactly what they would want to say, the speech is condemned as bad. There is no realization that Netanyahu came to express his official position as his country’s leader. The speech is good if he managed to do that in a way that is clear and easy to understand without mumbling, screeching, or being impolite to the hosts.
I liked the speech and cannot stop feeling sad for people whose worldview revolves around the idea that the goal of life is to avoid any form of discomfort, including of the intellectual kind.
Clarissa's Blog 
I agree that it was a fantastic speech.
It is important to keep in mind about Netanyahu is that he was raised in the United States. One of his main political strengths is that he thinks like an American. Right now his primary goal is to keep a coalition of the Republican Party along with non-woke Democrats together by a belief that the United States has an important role to play in countering anti-liberal regimes like Iran. Bibi’s model for himself is Churchill on the front lines fighting Nazi Germany while trying to get America to live up to its values.
LikeLiked by 3 people
The response from the audience was clearly positive and strong. Of course, the biggest haters boycotted the speech.
Based on the online drama, I thought he spit on the US flag or something like that. But it was a very pro-American, inspiring speech.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Clarissa your balanced response merit praise.
LikeLike
Key Israeli minister backs proposal for ex-Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad run post-war Gaza
by Baruch Yedid – TPS
Israeli officials are quietly throwing their support behind a United Arab Emirates proposal to install a former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as the head of a PA administration in post-war Gaza.
Salam Fayyad “Minister [of Strategic Affairs] Ron Dermer expressed full support for the Emirati proposal,” Israeli and Arab political sources confirmed to The Press Service of Israel. “This idea is acceptable to Israel, aligning with Defense Minister Galant’s ‘defense islands’ plan” which would develop local administration in various areas of Gaza.
Representatives of the US, Israel and UAE met last Thursday to discuss Gaza’s post-war governance.
Key to the discussions was an Emirati proposal to establish a new, revised Palestinian Authority in Gaza, potentially headed by Salam Fayyad, the former Palestinian Prime Minister. Fayyad, an economist by profession, is not affiliated with the Fatah movement and has a reputation as a critic of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Fayyad’s candidacy is reportedly supported by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the Emirates.
The Emirati plan involves multiple components, including establishing a reformed Palestinian Authority that operates independently of Abbas’s control. An Arab source familiar with the discussions told TPS-IL, “This reflects the sentiment in some Arab countries that advocate for the slogan ‘No Abbas, no Hamas.’”
The plan also proposes the presence of Arab and foreign forces in Gaza to maintain public order. The Emiratis envision Egyptian, Moroccan and Qatari participation to create a security corridor spanning from north to south in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials welcomed this approach, emphasizing the importance of a moderate Arab coalition.
“We do not intend to reinstate Abu Mazen’s rule in Gaza, as he is considered irrelevant,” high-ranking sources in the Israeli security establishment told TPS-IL. “The involvement of Saudi and Emirati forces is crucial, especially with the shifting strategic focus towards the Iranian issue.”
The sources explained, “Both the Emirates and the Saudis are not fans of Abu Mazen and they want to turn their strategic attention to the Iranian issue from now on.”
In a gesture possibly related to these diplomatic efforts, Israel on Wednesday approved the transfer of 250 wounded and sick Gaza residents to the UAE for medical treatment. The patients will be transferred from Gaza to the Ramon Airport in the Negev and then flown to the UAE. The Emirates has taken a leading role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, including building hospitals and supplying food and medical supplies.
The aid deliveries have been partly coordinated through Muhammad Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official and rival of Abbas now living in exile in the Emirates.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 115 remaining hostages, 39 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
LikeLike
Cute and funny UK parody response to JD Vance
https://x.com/MarshSongs/status/1814682124693217698
LikeLike
I never understood British humor. To me, this is the definition of cringe. I’m reminded of that scene in Dreiser’s novel An American Tragedy where a family of street preachers is conducting a preaching session and one of the kids is dying of shame but can’t escape.
LikeLike
Not-so-Great Britain mysteriously remains enamored of its smug humor and Churchillian quips — even when the rest of the world continues to find them massively unfunny. Probably because it finds it easier to live in a hang over of its “glory” (snort..imperialist) days than wake up and face its mounting irrelevance in modern times.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess the lies don’t bother you either
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-jeremy-diamond-delivers-fact-check-of-netanyahus-speech-defending-israels-war-in-gaza-doesnt-even-pass-the-smell-test/
And yes, he did metaphorically spit on the American flag. Which other foreign leader can call Americans “idiots” on national TV, ally or no ally, and get away with it. Again, disgusting.
LikeLike
The last place that should expose lies is the CNN. What’s next, fact checks by the “Komsomol Pravda”?
LikeLike
Facts don’t care about your feelings, my friend, as the saying goes.
LikeLike
The CNN wouldn’t know what a fact is if its existence depended on it.
LikeLike
Meanwhile, over at AP:
https://notthebee.com/article/ap-removes-fact-check-about-jd-vance-making-love-to-a-couch
Ah, MSM. Bastions of virtuous honesty, journalistic integrity, and class.
Classy, classy people.
LikeLike