Dozens of Democratic lawmakers planned to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday, expressing dismay over the thousands of civilian deaths and the humanitarian crisis from Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
The longtime Israeli leader will make a record fourth speech to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), passing British wartime leader Winston Churchill, who made three such speeches.
Netanyahu’s speech was expected to focus on coordinating the Israeli and U.S. response to the volatile situation in the Middle East, where there is a growing danger of the Gaza war spilling over into a wider regional conflict.
He was also expected to call for stronger action against Iran, which supports Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, both militant groups fighting Israel, and has drawn increased U.S. condemnation over its recent nuclear advances.
Republican leaders in Congress orchestrated the visit, but it was likely to be less confrontational than in 2015 when Republicans sidestepped then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and Netanyahu used his speech to criticize Obama’s Iran policy.
This time, Netanyahu will seek to bolster his traditional links to Republicans but also look to ease tensions with President Joe Biden, a Democrat whose support he will rely on for the remaining six months of the president’s term.
Washington is preoccupied with the fallout from Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he was ending his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination to challenge Republican Donald Trump.
SOME LAWMAKERS STAY AWAY
Some lawmakers said they were uncomfortable about appearing to endorse Netanyahu and his hard-right coalition government as he faces declining poll numbers in Israel.
“For him, this is all about shoring up his support back home, which is one of the reasons I don’t want to attend,” Senator Chris Van Hollen told reporters. “I don’t want to be part of a political prop in this act of deception. He is not the great guardian of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
A Republican House member, Representative Thomas Massie, also said he would not attend. “The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war. I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be attending,” he wrote on X.
Some of the most prominent Democrats planned to stay away. They included Senators Dick Durbin, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, Tim Kaine, Jeff Merkley and Brian Schatz, all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Patty Murray, who chairs Senate Appropriations.
In the House, those staying away included progressive Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as Ami Bera, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Adam Smith, the top Democrat on Armed Services.
Smith said he never attends joint meetings but also described himself on Tuesday as “very, very opposed to what Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing in Israel.”
Harris, who normally would preside over the speech as vice president, will not be attending. Neither will Republican Senator JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential running mate.
Murray would have presided, as the senior Senate Democrat, in Harris’ absence. Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, who leads the foreign relations committee, will replace her.
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