The White House and the State Department rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks, calling pro-Palestinian U.S. protesters “Iran’s useful idiots.”
Asked by reporters about the Israeli leader’s comments during an address before a joint session of the U.S. Congress, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said, “That’s not a phrase we would use.”
“They’ve tried to sew discord. They’ve obviously contributed to some funding of some protesters. But I think to paint everybody with that brush is unfortunate and not and not an accurate reflection,” Kirby told reporters at the White House.
“Most of the protest activity here in the United States is peaceful. The vast majority of it is organic. It comes from people who have real concerns, and that’s what a democracy is all about,” he added.
Netanyahu used his deceitful congressional address to rally support for Israel’s genocidal attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip where nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed. The Israeli leader drew dozens of standing ovations from those assembled within the august chamber, but about half of all congressional Democrats chose to boycott.
Their decisions are indicative of a growing rift within the Democratic Party over continued support for Israel, marking a stark departure from what was once a policy with broad bipartisan support.
The American public has also shown growing sympathy for Palestinians in recent years, and thousands of demonstrators took to Washington to protest Congress’ decision to grant a highly sought platform to Netanyahu as Israel faces allegations of genocide at the U.N.’s top court.
Meanwhile, the State Department also rejected the claims.
“We understand that the vast majority of protesters in America are not taking their orders from Iran and that most of the people who might have received support from Iran wouldn’t even know that that’s where it was coming from,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Miller clarified Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s remark when she said earlier this month that Iranian government actors have sought to take advantage of pro-Palestine protests in the U.S.
Miller refused to comment on Netanyahu’s remarks about American protestors.
When asked by Anadolu Agency (AA) if the U.S. considers Netanyahu’s remarks an interference in U.S. domestic affairs, he said: “It is certainly not.”
“I wouldn’t call it interference in domestic affairs,” he said, adding that the prime minister has the right to come and speak his mind.
“By the same token, we have the right to speak ours and we will do that,” he added.
When pressed to express his reaction to Netanyahu’s speech, he said he would not reply specifically to things the prime minister has said.
“Ultimately, when we have concerns with him, we often take it up with him privately,” he said. “He is free to say what he wants about protests, and we will say what we believe, and I made clear what the United States believes about protests, which is that every American has the right to peacefully exercise their first amendment rights.”
On the international outrage for Netanyahu, who is accused of war crimes and genocide by international courts, but received applause from American lawmakers, Miller said: “I would say that most, if not all, of the countries that we deal with, are quite familiar with the separation of powers in the United States understand that Congress is an independent branch and that this invitation was issued by Congress, not by the president or the executive branch.”
