A number of Democratic lawmakers did not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday; the notable absentee was Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, who did not preside over the session as the president of the Senate. Harris was in Indianapolis on Wednesday but is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday, a US official told CNN. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state, also declined to preside over the speech.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, announced he would skip the address in protest of what he described as the “total war” waged by Netanyahu’s government in Gaza. “No, Netanyahu should not be welcomed into the United States Congress,” Sanders said in a statement. “On the contrary, his policies in Gaza and the West Bank and his refusal to support a two-state solution should be roundly condemned.”
During the speech, Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American congresswoman, held up a sign that read “war criminal” on one side and “guilty of genocide” on the other.
Netanyahu’s address also included a stark warning against the threat of antisemitism. “Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred,” he stated. “Just as malicious lies were leveled for centuries at the Jewish people, malicious lies are now being leveled at the Jewish state. The outrageous slanders that paint Israel as racist and genocidal are meant to delegitimize Israel, to demonize the Jewish state and to demonize Jews everywhere.”
Netanyahu broadly criticized protests against Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, decrying anti-Israel protesters as “Iran’s useful idiots” claiming that “many choose to stand with evil,” and accused them of standing with Hamas and supporting “rapists and murderers.”
In his address, Netanyahu referenced a statement from US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, asserting that Iran is attempting to covertly stoke protests in the US related to the conflict in Gaza. “I have a message for these protesters: When the tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots,” Netanyahu declared.
Netanyahu forcefully defended Israel’s right to self-defense, asserting, “the hands of the Jewish state will never be shackled. Israel will always defend itself.” He expressed gratitude for American support, stating, “As we defend ourselves on all fronts, I know that America has our back and I thank you for it – all sides of the aisle.”
Following his arrival in Washington earlier this week, Netanyahu met with some American relatives of hostages held by Hamas. Former President Donald Trump announced that he and Netanyahu will meet Friday at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.