Dozens of Democratic lawmakers have decided to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional address on Wednesday amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict that was sparked by a massacre on Oct. 7.
As of this writing, nine Senate Democrats and over 25 House Democrats have publicly announced they will be boycotting Netanyahu’s first address to Congress in nearly a decade. While some Democrats like presumptive presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris are skipping the address due to prior scheduling conflicts, others like Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are objecting to the speech because of Netanyahu’s handling of the Israel- Hamas conflict, calling him a “war criminal” who is “committing genocide” against Palestinians.
“It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress,” Tlaib said in a press release on Tuesday. “He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court.”
Despite Tlaib’s harsh criticisms of Netanyahu, she has not publicly indicated whether or not she will be attending the address yet. Tlaib’s fellow squad members however, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rep. Cori Bush of Minnesota all publicly announced that they will be boycotting the speech. l Court is allowed to address a joint session of Congress,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a X post on Tuesday. “40k Palestinians are dead. Hostages aren’t home. Netanyahu is a war criminal. I will be boycotting this address.”
“By bestowing Prime Minister Netanyahu with a joint address, Congress is not only continuing to green-light genocide; it is actively celebrating the man at the forefront of that genocide,” Bush said in a X post on Tuesday. “I urge my colleagues to boycott this war criminal and join us in the fight for a just and lasting peace that protects the right to self-determination for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
On the Senate side, prominent Democrats like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois have also said they will publicly boycott Netanyahu’s address.
“Netanyahu should not be welcomed into the United States Congress,” Sanders said in a X post on Monday. “On the contrary, his policies in Gaza and the West Bank and his refusal to support a two- state solution should be roundly condemned. In my view, his right-wing, extremist government should not receive another nickel of U.S. taxpayer support to continue the inhumane destruction of Gaza.”
In 2015, 58 lawmakers skipped Netanyahu’s congressional address.
Featured image credit. (Screen Capture/IsraeliPM)
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