Netanyahu to address Congress on Wednesday, seeking to redirect American attention from Biden to the Middle East
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/24/politics/benjamin-netanyahu-address-washington/index.html
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address Congress on Wednesday – seeking to shore up American support for his war in Gaza and redirect the attention of a nation that has been preoccupied for weeks by a stream of domestic political issues.
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Biden’s relationship with Netanyahu has grown steadily colder as the war in Gaza has lagged on and as the death toll in the beleaguered enclave continues to rise. Both leaders have known each other for decades, but have traded not-so-subtle barbs at each other as their disagreements with the war’s future have spilled into the public.
Biden has said that Israel has reached its stated goal, described the country’s actions in Gaza as “over the top,” and plainly stated his desire for the war to end. The president has said it is “uncertain” whether Israel had committed war crimes. He has also hinted that he believes Netanyahu is dragging out the war only for the sake of his own political survival.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, has accused the United States of “withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel,” claims that American officials flatly rejected.
Progressive House Democrats plan counter-programming to Netanyahu visit
A number of Democratic lawmakers are planning to participate in a series of counter-programming events on Wednesday instead of attending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, the latest example of how Democrats remain divided over Israel’s handling of its war with Hamas.
At the same time Netanyahu is expected to address Congress, a variety of progressive nonprofit groups are hosting an event in the Capitol that multiple Democratic lawmakers are expected to attend, according to an invitation shared with CNN.
The event, “Peace is Possible: An Alternative Vision for Israel and Palestine,” will feature Israeli and Palestinian peace leaders and is hosted by groups like the Center for American Progress and Middle East Democracy Center.
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Approximately 80 House Democrats and at least six Democratic senators are expected to skip Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday, according to sources and public statements reviewed by CNN. House Democratic leadership has given their members room to make their own decisions about whether to attend the speech.
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Ahead of Netanyahu’s address, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent a letter to lawmakers obtained by CNN informing lawmakers that there will be “an increased police presence around the Capitol complex and in the House Chamber” and emphasized that there will be a “zero-tolerance policy for disturbances in the building.”
In a scathing statement, Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, called Netanyahu “a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people.” Tlaib’s statement did not say whether she would attend the speech.
“It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court,” Tlaib added.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, another one of the lawmakers to skip Netanyahu’s speech, told CNN, “I just don’t think we should be listening to a one-way lecture from Netanyahu when he’s had a failed strategy on the board.”
Even some Jewish lawmakers like Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs of California are not planning on attending.
“I’m not attending the Netanyahu address because I don’t want to condone his behavior over the last 10 months,” Jacobs told CNN. “I think Israel’s security is incredibly important. I have family who live there. But what Netanyahu has done, how he has prosecuted this war, what he has been doing in the West Bank does not actually make Israel any safer.”
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