The last time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the US Congress, about 60 Democratic lawmakers skipped his speech nine years ago, calling it a slap in the face to then-President Barack Obama because he was negotiating. a nuclear deal with Iran.
With Netanyahu’s speech to US lawmakers scheduled for July 24 and his government now at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the number of no-shows is likely to be much higher.
Democratic lawmakers are debating whether to attend or not. Many are torn between their support for Israel and their anguish over the way Israel has carried out military operations in Gaza. More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures.
Although some Democrats say they will attend out of respect for Israel, a growing faction does not want to participate, creating an extraordinarily charged atmosphere at a meeting that is normally a ceremonial, bipartisan show of support for an American ally.
“I want him to be a statesman and do what is right for Israel. “We all love Israel,” the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, said recently on about Netanyahu. “We have to help them and not let it stand in their way for so long.”
He added: “I think it’s going to invite more than what we’ve seen in terms of discontent among our people.”
Tensions between Netanyahu and Democratic President Joe Biden have been leaking into the public, and last week Netanyahu accused Biden administration of withholding US weapons from Israel, a statement he made again on Sunday before his Cabinet. After the prime minister first made the allegation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “In general, we don’t know what he’s talking about. “We just don’t know.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s invitation to Netanyahu came after consultation with the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. So far, no meeting between the leaders has been scheduled during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, this person said.
Netanyahu said in a statement that he was “very excited” by the invitation to address Congress and by the opportunity to “present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world.”
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