SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — For the first time in nearly a decade, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to us lawmakers on the congressional floor, intertwining American and Israeli interests in the Middle East and the importance of their alliance.
“Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory,” Netanyahu said in his address.
The impassioned speech received mixed responses from Jewish and Arab leaders in San Diego. ABC 10News spoke with Doris Bittar, a Palestinian leader at the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
“What worries me about his coming to Congress is that we are saying what he’s doing is okay,” Bittar said.
“What spoke to me in his words was when he effectively highlighted the human toll on the Israeli experience,” Betzy Lynch, the CEO of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, said.
“Right now, it’s hard for us to talk about all of humanity when our community has been so deeply affected in this way,” Lynch said.
Lynch emphasizes the importance of U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
“Without a doubt, the alignment with the democracy that is the USA and the democracy that is Israel is a key component to Western ideals and liberal democracies across the world,” Lynch said.
Bittar says America is ignoring the agency of Palestinians to form their society and government.
"For decades, there’s been a case made against Arabs and Muslims to the point where everyone will believe we’re capable of the world’s most heinous crimes and forget that for many millennia, we were creating the template for the modern world,” Bittar said.
Both say they're praying for peace in the region, although the path becomes less clear every day.
