Protesters sympathetic to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas descended on Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, at one point torching several American flags in apparent protest of Israeli Prime Minister’s Benjamin Natanyahu’s address to Congress — and address Maine Sen. Angus King and Rep. Chellie Pingree both boycotted.
Although Maine-based far left groups attempted to organize bus trips for activists to attend the anti-Israel activities in the nation’s capital, some remained behind to attend low-energy demonstrations in Augusta and Portland.
Outside of the fringe left Democratic circles, Netanyahu’s speech was generally regarded as pro-American and pro-democracy, a rousing call to defend western civilization in the faces of dark, illiberal forces.
“In the Middle East, Iran’s axis of terror confronts Israel, America and our Arab friends. This is not a clash between civilizations, it’s a clash between barbarism and civilizations. It’s a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said.
Refraining from overt criticism of ailing President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris, Netanyahu instead cast the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as a confrontation between liberal democracies and despotic regimes, specifically the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Netanyahu highlighted on several occasions the Iranian regime’s role in bankrolling not on terrorist attacks against Israel, but anti-Israel protests in American cities and on American college campuses.
“I have a message for these protesters. When the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting and funding you- you have officially become Irans useful idiots,” said Netanyahu.
“Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘Gays for Gaza’. They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC’,” Netanyahu said.
Prior to the speech, anti-Israel activists infiltrated the Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu was thought to be staying, and released maggots and crickets throughout the building. It wasn’t immediately clear why the Hamas sympathizers had stockpiles of maggots on-hand.
Outside of the U.S. Capitol building on the day of the speech, anti-Israel demonstrators bused in from across the country clashed with police forces.
Demi Kouzounas, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine who is running against Sen. King, issued a tepid statement criticizing the junior Senator for boycotting the leader of America’s chief ally in the Middle East.
“Senator King has a responsibility to represent all Mainers in listening to the democratically elected leader of our greatest ally in the Middle East,” Kouzounas said.
“It’s unfortunate that instead he chose to make a hyper partisan political statement,” she said.
King issued a written statement on his decision to boycott the address, saying that he disagrees with how the Israeli government has conducted the war against Hamas terrorists and its lack of “postwar planning for Gaza”.
“For this reason I have made the decision to not attend today’s Joint Session of Congress,” King said.
“My absence today is by no means intended to indicate any wavering in my belief that Hamas must be defeated, but is meant to convey the deep concerns and reservations I have about the lack of post-war planning and concerns that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions have diminished Israel’s standing in the community of nations without providing Gazans with an alternative to their current destructive leadership,” King said.
In his statement, King did not elaborate on what exactly he would like to see in terms of post-war planning from the Israeli government.
Pingree issued a more vehement statement, calling on Netanyahu to resign as Prime Minister and skewering what she dubbed as “far-right”, “extremists”, and “ultranationalists” in Israel.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has slow-walked ceasefire and hostage negotiations, bowed to extremists in his coalition who oppose a two-state solution, actively delayed humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians, and created a worse security environment for both of our countries,” Pingree said.
“For these reasons, I am not attending Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress today,” she said.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="29604 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=29604">14 Comments
2 More who need to be “volunteered” to go to help Hamas for a few months.
What does Maine see in Angus ?
Did not expect anything different from these two socialist! Maine should be ashamed of voting for these haters!
Pinhead and Anus are useful idiots. A BS two-state solution would be suicidal for Israel. Caroline Glick’s book, “The Israeli Solution, A One-State Plan for Peace in the M.E.” explains it all, but we know facts don’t matter.
The most quotable line from Netanyahu was, “Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘Gays for Gaza’. They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC’.” 🤣
Mr. King-“disagrees with how the Israeli government has conducted the war against Hamas terrorists” Mr. King what do you propose if your wife was raped in the middle of the night and your child were beheaded.
” the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair” are facts you do not speak of, why not?
I knew they’re Nazis!
I think that their position is, killing babies good, killing Mainers is good, killing Ukrainian citizens is good, but killing Hamas terrorists is bad.
33+ trillion in debt. 1trillion, 450 billion in interest payments on that debt. Imagine the problems we could fix if they weren’t pissing that money away. No one person did this but those in Washington are doing nothing to fix it. Everyone of those mf’s should be fired.
King issued a written statement on his decision to boycott the address, saying that he disagrees with how the Israeli government has conducted the war against Hamas terrorists and its lack of “postwar planning for Gaza”.
He’s a frigging joke! Tell me the how the scum dho resides in our Congress has ever considered “post war planning ” anytime in our history!! Especially the current proxy war against Russia. They have NO regard for the extreme amount of Ukranian lives lost fighting it. Or destruction of the country they are funneling money through. These people disgust me to no end. Send thes people to pasture or prison where they belong
“It wasn’t immediately clear why the Hamas sympathizers had stockpiles of maggots on-hand.” Mayhaps they found them in their ladys’ unshaven armpits.
When I returned from Israel two weeks after Oct 7th, I sent Mr. King several emails expressing my support for the Israeli people and asking for him to do the same. His reply was positive – stating he did support Israel and would do what he could to continue to support Israel. Well, look how things have changed! He and Ms. Pingree don’t deserve to be “servants” for the people of Maine. So guess what? We can change that in November! Let’s support those candidates who are running, who truly know how to serve Mainers. Lord, have mercy.
Listen, I don’t care for flag burning or any of that nonsense either but don’t be so sure that the people doing it aren’t working for our government or certain other foreign nations. Remember January 6th and how that went down and how the people involved were protrayed. Thomas Massie seems like the only Republican with the berries to call Netanyahu’s speech what it really is…a war rally by a foreign leader in the US Congress
Don’t care about hamas or net and yahoo. Neither do anything positive to the U.S.A. Let’s take care of our own house.America first.