The politically divisive speech was in response to the recent progress made between the United States and Iran with nuclear proliferation talks, which Netanyahu ?heavily criticized.
“We must all stand together to stop Iran’s march of conquest, subjugation and terror,” Netanyahu said in his address. “In this deadly game of thrones, there’s no place for America or Israel, no peace for Christians, Jews or Muslims who don’t share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone.”
President Obama, whose relationship with Netanyahu has been known to be rocky, was not present during Netanyahu’s speech and refused to meet with the prime ?minister during his visit.
Gov. Mike Pence, who made a visit to Israel and met with Netanyahu in December, said he fully supports ?Netanyahu and his speech.
“As Governor of Indiana, I offer a warm welcome to Prime Minister Netanyahu as he speaks before a joint session of Congress today and encourage every member of the Indiana delegation to attend the address in order to demonstrate the continued bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Pence said in his public ?statement.
Republicans in Congress strongly supported Netanyahu’s position, but a portion of the Democrats in Congress decided to boycott the speech, claiming the timing of his visit and the nature of his address was destructive to the success of talks with Iran. As many as 60 of the 232 Democratic members of Congress did not attend the address.
Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., also offered his backing for Netanyahu and pointed to Iran as a terrible threat to the national security of America.
“(Netanyahu) articulated clearly why this threat is of such significance and why the negative consequences of a bad deal with Iran will impact the security and safety of all Americans,” Coats said in a press release.
Daniel Metz
