House Democrats are displeased that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to the United States to deliver an address at a joint session of Congress, with some arguing it is a bad time for him to come while a ceasefire is on the table.
Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle invited Netanyahu on Friday last week to Capitol Hill, a move that is already sowing divisions between Republicans and Democrats and within the Democratic conference itself.
Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) disagreed with leadership that Netanyahu should address Congress so soon after President Joe Biden announced the newest ceasefire proposal in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“I still feel like this is a terrible time for him to come,” Balint told the Washington Examiner. “We have this ceasefire on the table. I have strong concerns that it undermines not just the president but also undermines all of the Israelis who have taken to the streets in the last few days, demanding that Netanyahu take this deal.”
The exact date for Netanyahu’s address has not yet been determined. Both House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the Israeli prime minister’s office denied that the speech would take place on June 13, which was based on reports earlier on Monday. Netanyahu’s office said the speech cannot happen on the proposed date because it falls on the second day of the Jewish holiday Shavuot.
The speaker’s office told the Washington Examiner that discussions regarding the address date are ongoing.
“The speaker’s office is still coordinating with all relevant parties to establish a date for Prime Minister Netanyahu to deliver a joint address to Congress,” Taylor Hauslee, communications director for Johnson, said. “We will announce a date once it is finalized.”
Who will be in attendance for Netanyahu’s address remains to be seen. The war in Gaza has fractured the Democratic conference, with more progressive members arguing for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian crisis involving Palestinian civilians.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a member of the progressive “Squad” and a vocal critic of Netanyahu, told reporters on Monday that she may not attend the prime minister’s speech and she “certainly” does “not approve” of the situation.
“My opinion on this is pretty clear: He shouldn’t be here,” Ocasio-Cortez said of Netanyahu. “He shouldn’t be addressing Congress. I don’t think that it is productive, for a Republican or Democrat, to invite him.”
Netanyahu’s last address before Congress was in 2015 at the invitation of then-Speaker John Boehner to criticize the Iran nuclear deal. Boehner kept then-President Barack Obama in the dark about the invite, prompting several Democrats to boycott the address.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has vowed repeatedly not to attend the prime minister’s speech, calling Netanyahu a war criminal. Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) expects a “large” number of members to boycott the prime minister’s speech, per Axios. She said she spoke to several lawmakers who went to Netanyahu’s 2015 speech and said they will not attend this time around.
Balint said she is “thinking carefully” about her decision to attend the address, saying she is weighing her move based on what’s best for her district.
“I’ve been an outspoken critic of him for a long time,” Balint said of Netanyahu. “And I’m trying to figure out for me and my constituents: Is it more important for me to be there in the room as a countervoice? Or is it more important for me to make a statement of, you know, rejecting his presence here at this time?”
Some Democrats are more apprehensive about Netanyahu speaking before Congress, hoping that he will address paths to bring the war to an end.
“I don’t know if it’s a great time for him to come or not, one way or the other,” Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) told the Washington Examiner. “I mean, it’d be great if there’s some sort of big announcement about how to move forward. Hopefully it’ll be an acceptance of the Biden plan, but I don’t know what the timing is going to be. We’ll have to see.”
On Tuesday, the House is set to vote on a resolution that will impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court if it engages in efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies.” The resolution comes as Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant application from the ICC over allegations of war crimes.
The Biden administration said on Monday it “strongly opposes” the resolution.
“The Administration is deeply concerned about the ICC Prosecutor’s heedless rush to apply for arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials,” the Biden administration said in a statement. “At the same time, the Administration opposes the imposition of sanctions against the ICC, its personnel, its judges, or those who assist its work.
“There are more effective ways to defend Israel, preserve U.S. positions on the ICC, and promote international justice and accountability, and the Administration stands ready to work with the Congress on those options,” the Biden administration continued.
Balint pointed to the Netanyahu address as another “deeply political move” on behalf of congressional Republicans, who have been mostly united in denouncing Hamas and pro-Palestinian protests and offering full support for Israel.
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“You know everything that happens here in Washington is through a political lens,” Balint said. “And so it has been challenging to see this as something other than a deeply political move to try to make our president look bad.”
She added, “You have a deal on the table, finally, that might actually work. You have a leader in Israel who I believe is not making decisions in the best interest of his nation, but it’s in his own best interests. … It’s difficult for me to see this other than, once again, a way for us to not get to a conclusion of this war in the near term. This cannot drag on.”