Netanyahu address creates a dilemma for Democrats

Rachel Oswald | CQ-Roll Call (TNS)

WASHINGTON — While Republicans are looking forward to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Wednesday afternoon speech to a joint meeting of Congress, most Democrats are approaching the occasion with bated breath and dread — if they plan to attend at all.

The elected leader of Israel will arrive to a Capitol Hill complex with a significantly ramped up security presence and barricades to keep out the many different anti-war and religious groups planning to protest his speech, a sign of a remarkable change to the once-vaunted U.S.-Israel special relationship.

Congress has long led the way on that relationship, with both Democratic and Republican administrations repeatedly having to work to catch up with and implement many different pro-Israel policies. Those laws include generous weapons assistance, the location of the U.S. embassy and how the U.S. government is allowed to engage with and support the Palestinians.

But the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict has complicated things for Democrats. American and Israeli opponents of Netanyahu’s speech have derided it as a PR stunt, aimed at trying to improve his own sinking political fortunes back home.

Over the weekend, tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to protest his multiday trip to Washington. The Israeli protesters accused Netanyahu of wasting time with the U.S. visit and said he should be focusing instead on finalizing a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian group Hamas that could result in the release of all remaining Israeli hostages. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Netanyahu’s address would be a historic one at a pivotal moment in time.

“Our two nations are united in our common cause to bring the hostages home and we are united to stand against our common enemies,” Johnson said during a Tuesday press conference. “As Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah and the Houthis, have become increasingly hostile… we have to be clear that Israel is not alone. It has never been more important than it is right now for us to stand with our closest ally in the Middle East.”

Invitations for foreign leaders to address Congress are a rare honor and a highly sought diplomatic prize for foreign governments. This will be Netanyahu’s fourth speech to Congress, more than any other world leader.

That includes former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who addressed joint meetings of Congress three times, with two of those speeches coming during the dark and perilous days of World War II. Netanyahu currently is one of the most unpopular leaders in the world.

Netanyahu’s long-running domestic corruption trial continues in fits and starts and he might be indicted soon by the International Criminal Court on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his handling of the nine-month war in Gaza.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry has said Israel has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in the besieged territory. The ministry’s death toll, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in the war in Gaza, is widely accepted as accurate by international organizations and news outlets.

Harris not presiding

Notably, Vice President Kamala Harris — the presumed Democratic presidential nominee — will not preside with Johnson on the dais behind Netanyahu when he addresses Congress.

Instead, Harris will be in Indianapolis on Wednesday, giving a keynote speech at a conference of a historically Black sorority, Zeta Phi Beta. The decision not to attend the Netanyahu speech, which has been scheduled for weeks, is seen as a calculated statement by the White House, where relations with Netanyahu and his far-right government — already frosty prior to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel — have grown even more difficult.

A planned Tuesday meeting at the White House with President Joe Biden has been pushed back until Thursday, according to a U.S. official. The president is scheduled to return to Washington Tuesday afternoon after recovering from a recent COVID-19 infection.

Johnson said it was “outrageous to me and inexcusable” that Harris would not be attending Netanyahu’s speech.

While the White House is not describing Harris’ non-attendance as a boycott, many other Democrats have been open about their plans to boycott Netanyahu’s speech.

While a full tally of those lawmakers who have announced plans not to attend wasn’t readily available on Tuesday, some high-profile names include Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and former No. 3 House Democratic leader James E. Clyburn, D-S.C.

During Netanyahu’s last address to a joint meeting of Congress in 2015, 58 Democratic lawmakers boycotted his speech, which they saw as an insulting and partisan attack on then-President Barack Obama’s efforts to finalize negotiations around the multinational nuclear agreement with Iran. It is likely that number will be much higher when he returns to the Hill on Wednesday given widespread Democratic anger with his government’s handling of the war in Gaza.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal pro-Israel group J Street, said the invitation is “an act of political gamesmanship that is not really an act of statesmanship.”

“That’s what these speeches should be… it should be reserved for the Winston Churchills of the world in a moment of crisis,” Ben-Ami said. Netanyahu’s “track record and all of his activities suggest that the real motivation behind this is political, either to drive a wedge in the Democratic party or to give himself a boost back home.”

Other shows of support

Democrats keen to show their support for Israel but not Netanyahu are organizing alternative events Wednesday. That includes a meeting with the families of Israeli hostages organized by Clyburn, House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, House Rules ranking member Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, House Oversight and Accountability ranking member Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and House Veterans Affairs ranking member Mark Takano of California.

Additional lawmakers such as Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., also intend to meet with the Israeli family members.

“He and a bunch of other members are meeting with family members who were taken hostage, and his guest is a family member of a former hostage,” Matt Handverger, Pocan’s communications director, said.

As for Democrats who decide to attend the speech but choose to protest it in some way, Johnson has threatened to have them arrested.

“We’re going to have extra sergeants-at-arms on the floor. If anybody gets out of hand … we’re going to arrest people if we have to do it,” the speaker said last week at an event organized by the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Handverger called that a “a threat on the First Amendment.”

More centrist pro-Israel organizations such as Democratic Majority for Israel are urging Democratic lawmakers to hold their nose and just get through the speech to avoid deepening public perceptions about how large the divide has grown inside the party over support for Israel.

“Democrats sat and listened to what Donald Trump had to say over and over again when he came to speak before Congress (for his State of the Union addresses),” said DMFI President Mark Mellman. “I don’t think going to listen to him is endorsing him, either.”

Mellman said it would be a “serious mistake” for Netanyahu to use his speech to take “potshots” at Democrats, but he was hopeful the prime minister would instead strike a tone of unity and appreciation for the significant diplomatic and military assistance the Biden administration has provided to Israel.

(John T. Bennett and Justin Papp contributed to this report.)

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