WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks before Congress on Wednesday in hopes of bolstering U.S. support for Israel’s continued offensives against Hamas and other adversaries. But boycotts of his appearance by some Democratic lawmakers and expected protests outside underscore how his hardline administration’s behavior the devastating war in Gaza is creating cracks in years of American support for his country.
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. But the most notable absentees will be behind him: Vice President Kamala Harriswho is president of the Senate and traditionally would sit behind the speaker of any dignitary, says a long-planned trip will keep her away Wednesday. And the next Democrat in line, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, is declining to attend.
Republicans criticized Harris’ absence, the new Democratic frontrunner for presidentas a sign of disloyalty to an ally. However, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, said campaigning would also make him a no-show for the Israeli leader’s speech.
And outside the Capitol, protesters are angry over the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians, or Netanyahu’s failure to free Israeli and American citizens. hostages taken by Hamas and other militants in the first hours of the war between Israel and Hamas, promising mass protests.
In preparation, House Speaker Mike Johnson warned of a “zero tolerance” policy for any signs of unrest inside the Capitol building. “It is our tradition to recognize the right to free speech of every guest speaker, even if we disagree with their views,” the Louisiana Republican wrote to members Tuesday.
Johnson arranged the speech, an honor that marks both the two countries’ historically warm ties and the political weight that support for Israel has long held in American politics. But attention to the visit has been somewhat blunted by the U.S. political turmoil of recent weeks, including the assassination attempt on Trump and President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek another term.
Netanyahu hopes to project the image of a tough, respected statesman to an increasingly critical domestic audience in Israel. That could be difficult given the broad divisions among Americans over Netanyahu’s conduct of the war.
Many Democrats who support Israel but are critical of Netanyahu see the speech as an attempt by Republicans to portray themselves as the party most loyal to Israel and to give the prime minister some much-needed political breathing space.
“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.
Still, many Democrats plan to attend the speech despite their criticism of Netanyahu, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who called for new elections in Israel in a floor speech in March. Schumer, from New York, said then that Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Netanyahu will also meet Biden and Harris on Thursday and Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
The United States is Israel’s main ally, arms supplier and source of military aid as Israel fights to break Hamas since the group attacked Israel on October 7Netanyahu’s visit is his first abroad since the war began, and comes under the shadow of arrest warrants issued against him by the International Criminal Court for alleged Israeli war crimes against Palestinians. The United States does not recognize the ICC.
The Biden administration says it wants Netanyahu to focus his visit on helping to finalize a ceasefire deal and free hostages in the nine-month war. Israelis are increasingly accusing Netanyahu of prolonging the war to avoid a likely ouster from power when the conflict ends.
Netanyahu says his goals for the U.S. visit are to push for the release of hostages held by Hamas and other militants in Gaza, to drum up support for Israel’s continued fight against the group, and to advocate for continued confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iranian-allied groups in the region. The U.S., France and others are trying to calm border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, fearing a wider war.
Netanyahu will also address in his speech a new China-brokered deal between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to form a government together. The agreement was an attempt to resolve a rivalry that could make it even harder for Palestinians to have a role in governing Gaza once the war is over. Israel immediately denounced the pact, with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller calling Hamas a terror group that should have no role in governing Palestinians.
Some Democrats are wary of Netanyahu, who a joint address to Congress in 2015 to condemn then-President Barack Obama’s pending nuclear deal with Iran. National security adviser Jake Sullivan has said he does not expect Wednesday’s speech to be a repeat of the 2015 one.
As the prime minister speaks, multiple protests are planned in and around the Capitol. The largest is scheduled for Wednesday morning, with organizers planning to march around the Capitol. demands Netanyahu’s arrest on war crimes charges. Relatives of Israeli hostages plan vigil on the National Mall.
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Associated Press editors Stephen Groves and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
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