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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hopes of using his Washington trip to bolster the two nations' efforts against the terrorist axis of Iran and its proxies are being overshadowed by controversy and boycotts spurred by his visit.
The leader’s visit this week, culminating in a speech to Congress on Wednesday, will notably lack the attendance of both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Dozens of Democratic senators and representatives have also publicly announced they will not attend. Some reportedly cited disagreement with Netanyahu’s policies, while others mentioned scheduling conflicts. Similarly, dozens of lawmakers skipped the Israeli leader’s speech in 2015.
Protests over US support for Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza are planned on and around Capitol Hill.
The vice president usually presides over joint addresses, but Harris will be in Indianapolis on her presidential campaign which she launched over Sunday, after President Biden dropped his re-election bid.
Biden, meanwhile, will deliver his first address to the nation since announcing his decision not to seek re-election, with some arguing that it will further distract from Netanyahu’s visit.
Harris is slated to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister separately during his visit. Biden, who ended his COVID-19 self-isolation, is set to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday.
Biden and Harris were also visibly absent to greet the Israeli leader and his wife upon arrival. But Harris’ plans, according to an aide who spoke with Politico, “should not be interpreted as a change in her position with regard to Israel.”
David Friedman, who served as the US ambassador to Israel during the Trump administration, was a vocal critic of Harris’ absence, stating that it is not just an insult to Netanyahu but also to Israel.
Her refusal to preside over the joint address “tells you everything you need to know about where she stands on Israel. All the far left Jewish groups trying to justify this incredible insult are convincing no one,” Friedman posted on X.
Former President Donald Trump will be meeting the Netanyahu on Friday at Mar-a-Lago, his luxury resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
The visit marks the first time Netanyahu – whose popularity has plummeted at home – has visited a foreign country since Iran-backed Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking 240 hostage.
The stakes for the Israeli leader are high, as he faces mounting criticism and pressure to strike a cease-fire deal that would end the fighting in Gaza following the Israeli offensive after Hamas’ attacks on October 7, 2023. Palestinian health officials say tens of thousands have reportedly been killed since the war began.
Upon landing on Tuesday, Netanyahu and his wife Sara met with representatives of the families of the Israeli-American hostages held by Hamas. Reports suggest that the families had already been onboard the flight with the Prime Minister.
Shortly after the meeting, Netanyahu said that any cessation in military actions against Hamas could potentially compromise Israel's security in the face of threats from Iran.
“I am not prepared in any way to give in on the victory over Hamas. If we give up on this, we will be in danger in the face of Iran's entire axis of evil,” he said after the meeting.
Netanyahu said he is doing everything in his power to combine the necessary humanitarian objective and the imperative to return the hostages, and at the same time, “preserve the existence of the State of Israel.”
