Muslim Americans, anti-war advocacy groups slam Netanyahu-Trump meeting

A coalition of anti-war, pro-Palestinian civil rights, and activist groups urged U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday to take a firm stance during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House later that day, similar to what he did to secure a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. They argued that the meeting should not have taken place at all, given the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza war.

Neither the United States nor Israel is a party to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, allowing Netanyahu to travel to Washington without the risk of arrest. Prime Minister Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to visit during Trump's second term. Trump has stated his desire to work towards a lasting "peace" in the region, but Netanyahu has indicated his readiness to resume the war on Gaza, which could consolidate his fragile far-right coalition government.

"President Trump now has a golden opportunity," said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, at a press conference outside the White House. "He says he wants to bring peace to the Middle East. Is he going to go down the road of war-mongers, or is he going to listen to the American people?" she asked. "Is he going to listen to the international community, and the mantra that we have been saying month after month: 'Netanyahu does not belong in Washington, D.C. He belongs in The Hague'?"

Speakers suggested that Netanyahu has manipulated Trump in the past and may do so again, citing Israel's role in the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and the U.S. assassination of a senior Iranian commander at Israel's request in 2020. "It is a disgrace, and it has and will forever tarnish the reputation of the United States," said Nihad Awad of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). He added: "By hosting Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump is telling us that more war may be coming. Trump is making it difficult for himself to get the title he wants: President of Peace."

Osama Abuirshaid of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) stated that giving Netanyahu the opportunity to come to the White House is a privilege the Israeli leader has not earned or deserved. "He is being given more military aid. He is being rewarded by unfreezing the 2,000-pound bombs that destroy Gaza… He is being rewarded by calling for the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip. He is being rewarded by hinting that he may allow Israel to annex 60% of the West Bank, which means we are not only talking about an apartheid state now, but we are now also confirming that Israel is a genocidal state," Abuirshaid told reporters.

Abuirshaid added that Netanyahu is "more afraid" of Trump than he is of his own far-right ministers, Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. "That’s good. Yes, we want America to be respected again, as President Trump continues to say," he said, adding: "President Trump should take a stand on this, and not promise more bribes to a vassal state."

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) also expressed similar sentiments in a statement on Tuesday, calling on Trump to stand up to Netanyahu, and claiming that Joe Biden's presidency "collapsed" because he was unable to say no to Israel. "Benjamin Netanyahu has taken every modern American president for a ride, acting against U.S. interests, and likes to boast, 'I understand America, and America is a thing you can move easily'," NIAC said in the statement. "Today, Trump has a rare and historic opportunity for peace—if he stands up to Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu]. He has the chance to stabilize the Middle East and do what his predecessors have tried and failed to do: end the endless wars that have plagued the U.S. and American troops in the region for a generation."