Netanyahu, a speech isn't enough to fix a country - opinion

If only Benjamin Netanyahu managed the country as well as he spoke. 

That was the feeling Wednesday night after his amazing speech before a joint session of Congress.

Yes, roughly half of House and Senate Democrats skipped the show, but Netanyahu’s address will go down in the annals of history as one of the best speeches ever delivered by an Israeli leader and maybe even the best. 

Netanyahu received resounding standing ovations, was met by thunderous applause upon entering and leaving the hall, and had a delivery that was full of charisma, suspense, and passion. It was a speech for the books.

And he used the gallery. He pointed to Noa Argamani, the hostage who was rescued in a breathtaking commando operation last month; to Yechiel Leiter, father of Moshe Leiter, an elite reservist who was killed a month into the war; to Iris Haim, the mother of hostage Yotam Haim who was accidentally killed by IDF troops after escaping his Hamas captors; as well as to three soldiers who were in attendance and had fought valiantly against Hamas during the war.

It was a speech meant to highlight the brutality of Hamas’s attack on October 7 but also the courage and heroism of Israel’s soldiers. 

He, of course, laid out a detailed indictment of Iran, which he blasted for being responsible for all the violence in the region. 

He hailed the bipartisan support Israel has received in the US – from President Joe Biden, whom he praised for coming to Israel’s assistance in its darkest hour, as well as former president Donald Trump, whose decisions to move the embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Israeli rule over the Golan Heights he celebrated.

It was a carefully crafted speech, meant to not favor any side of the aisle and he did so in classic Netanyahu fashion. 

He leaned forward at the right parts, put his hand in his pocket for others, placed his hands on the podium to make a point, and banged his fist for effect as needed.

So, what was the vital piece missing in Netanyahu's speech?

The speech had everything except one key section that was missing – a vision for Israel. 

He spoke about some sort of administration that would run Gaza as well as how important it is that Gaza be deradicalized to prevent another war sometime in the future.

But that was it. There was nothing there about how the war will be won, when it will be over, what the day after plan will look like and who will take over Gaza instead of the IDF and what this administration would be made up of.

Again, just slogans of complete victory and Hamas’s elimination.

Regarding the hostages, the situation was worse. 

On Wednesday, the delegation led by the head of the Mossad was supposed to fly to Doha to present Israel’s updated position, but then Netanyahu decided to postpone their trip.

Was it because he had something big and important to say in the speech? Sadly, no. 

All he said was that he would not rest until all the hostages are home. 

That is hard to believe. According to security officials involved in the negotiations, he is the person who has held up a new deal for weeks. 

Even now, as he remains in the US for the weekend, time is being lost and the hostages continue to languish.

This couldn’t have been more obvious than the news that came out as he spoke. 

The IDF had recovered several bodies from Gaza that same day and was in the process of identifying them. 

When Netanyahu finished his speech, Kibbutz Nir Oz announced that the body of Maya Goren, the kindergarten teacher, had been identified. 

Netanyahu might have told Congress that he wouldn’t rest, but even during this monumental speech, the clock was running out for the hostages.

And in the end, as good a speech as it was, it was still just a speech. 

Yes, it will give Netanyahu a boost in the polls and will once again show the Israeli public how he can appear to be one level ahead of many of the contenders to replace him (at least as an English-language orator), but there is no sugarcoating the failures that he has left in his track.

The disaster of October 7 is his to own. 

He was the prime minister since 2009 (except for one year), he built up the policy of weakening the Palestinian Authority and strengthening Hamas, he created the Qatari cash scheme, and he held back from going all the way to eliminate Hamas in any of the previous five large-scale operations he oversaw against Hamas as prime minister.

He is responsible for what happened and also for what is continuing to happen under his government: Haredim are dodging the draft in record numbers as the Likud Party continues to capitulate to their political demands so they remain in the coalition; tens of thousands of Israelis remain homeless – in the North and the South – without any light at the end of the tunnel for when they might be able to return home.

These are the issues Israelis care about, and this is what they would have wanted to hear the prime minister talk about. The speech was nice, but Israelis want action and change. That does not come in a speech.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) and a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.