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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. Some Democratic lawmakers are boycotting the event and protests are still expected in Washington over his administration’s hard-line stance on the Gaza war.
Netanyahu has received a warm welcome from Republican lawmakers who arranged his speech in the House of Representatives, making him the first foreign leader to address a joint session of Congress four times, surpassing Winston Churchill.
Many Democrats and politically independent Bernie Sanders plan to boycott Netanyahu’s appearance. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the Senate leader and traditionally would sit behind any dignitary who speaks, has said a long-planned trip will keep her away. The next Democrat in line, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, also declined to attend.
Amid Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza and a changing political landscape in the US, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flown to Washington for a controversial speech to a joint session of Congress. Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discusses Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.
The United States is Israel’s main ally, arms supplier and source of military aid in Israel’s fight against Hamas, which was attacked on October 7 by the group considered a terrorist organization by several Western countries.
It is the first time Netanyahu has visited the country abroad since the war began.
Hours before the speech, thousands of protesters gathered at the Capitol to condemn Netanyahu’s visit and the war in Gaza. Among the protesters who spoke to CBC News were those who said they had come from Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, California and upstate New York to condemn the war.
Abdellatif Zrouri, originally from Morocco, flew with his family from Miami to the rally on Monday to set an example for his two young sons to be “on the right side” of history and “do the right thing.”
“What is happening in Gaza now is unacceptable in any form and we cannot simply stand by and watch. [for it]”I try to teach my children that every person, everywhere, every religion, every nation, should be free and that this is the time for Palestinians to have their own country,” Zrouri told CBC News, holding his toddler.
“My children, my family, myself, are not more important than the people of Gaza.”
As the crowd waved the Palestinian flag and bloodied effigies of the Israeli prime minister, the crowd cheered as speakers on stage called for an end to the conflict.
“Palestine will be free,” they chanted. “Ceasefire now. Free, free Palestine.”
Bill Mims, 78, drove from Virginia to support a Palestinian friend in the West Bank.
“How much longer do you have?” he continued, asked about Netanyahu. “He’s a war criminal … I think it’s tragic that some politicians in the United States think it’s okay to invite him here. For me, he’s not welcome here, and it’s really tragic that he’s addressing Congress.”
Police have set up a perimeter around the Capitol the size of five football fields, with officers from the eastern US in large numbers.
Tension reigned in parts of the city on Wednesday, as workers wondered online whether it was safe to come to work or whether they should work from home.
Hope for ceasefire remains
President Joe Biden’s administration says it wants Netanyahu to focus his visit on helping to finalize a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the nine-month war. The far-right wing of Netanyahu’s coalition has dismissed the possibility of a pause in the fighting.
“Once the Knesset adjourns on July 28, Mr. Netanyahu doesn’t have to worry about a vote of no confidence. And if he and Hamas do introduce a motion, that will happen in mid-August,” Aaron David Miller, the former Middle East negotiator who is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told CBC News this week.
Netanyahu says his visit to the US aims to push for the release of hostages held by Hamas, garner support for Israel’s continued fight against the group and advocate for continued fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iran-allied groups in the region.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson arranged the speech before the recent political unrest in the US, including the assassination attempt on Trump and Biden’s decision not to seek a second term as president.
“I don’t know all of Chairman Johnson’s motives for initiating the invitation, but it’s clear he wanted to throw a political lifeline to Netanyahu, whose popularity in Israel is very low right now,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, one of dozens of Democrats planning to boycott, said Tuesday.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, was even more incendiary, calling the joint speech “the first time in American history that a war criminal has been given that honor.” The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and specific Israeli and Hamas officials on charges including war crimes.
Obama’s inaugural speech rattled Democrats
Some veteran Democrats have been wary of Netanyahu after he condemned then-President Barack Obama’s pending nuclear deal with Iran in a 2015 joint address to Congress, but many in the party are on the case. That includes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who in a March speech called for new elections in Israel and called Netanyahu an obstacle to peace in the region.
House Republican Thomas Massie, a critic of US aid and support during the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, called the visit “political theater.”
“The purpose of Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is to strengthen his political position in Israel and quell unrest in Israel. [international] against his war,” Massie, of Kentucky, said in a social media post. “I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be there.”
After ordering civilians to evacuate the area, the Israel Defense Forces targeted an area east of Khan Younis, killing at least 37 people and wounding 120, according to figures from Gaza officials.
In addition to the many protests, family members of Israeli hostages are planning a vigil on the National Mall.
Gaza’s health ministry says more than 39,100 Palestinians have been killed in the war, making no distinction between fighters and civilians. The Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7 left about 250 hostages taken and some 1,200 dead, according to Israeli government counts.
The Israeli government believes that 116 hostages have not yet been repatriated, although about a third have been declared dead in absentia. Several of the missing hostages are U.S. citizens.
After the speech, Netanyahu will meet separately with Biden and Harris on Thursday, and with Trump on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
