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Eight American hostages taken by the Hamas terrorists on October 7 and still held in captivity is not enough for presidential candidate Kamala Harris to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the Joint Session of Congress Wednesday.
This decision was made on the heels of emotional displays at the Republican National Convention last week with Gold Star families who had lost their loved one during August 2021 American pullout in Afghanistan, and the pleas of an Israeli American’s parents who son is still held in captivity.
Instead, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), the retiring chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is set to preside over Netanyahu’s speech, fiing a role traditionally held by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris is set to be traveling on Wednesday on what her office said was a pre-arranged trip to Indianapolis. She is expected to meet with Netanyahu separately this week.
Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA) would ordinarily be next in line after Harris to preside over the session, but the Washington senator has declined to do so and will not be attending the speech.
Murray is also the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Her absence Wednesday may be an indication that other democrats are expected to skip Netanyahu’s speech. Murray was not among the lawmakers who skipped Netanyahu’s 2015 congressional address.
“Securing a lasting, mutual ceasefire is of the utmost importance right now, and I will continue to push for one to be reached as soon as possible,” Murray said in a statement. “I hope Prime Minister Netanyahu will use the opportunity to address how he plans to secure a ceasefire — and lasting peace in the region.”
Netanyahu will have some private meetings when he comes to the Capitol this week, including with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Johnson said last week he would be increasing security inside the House chamber in anticipation of possible protests — which could come from disgruntled members seeking to disrupt the speech, or from guests invited by anti-Israel lawmakers, or from anti-Israel staffers, some of whom have joined protests on Capitol Hill since the October 7 attack and Israel’s response. Authorities began erecting riot fencing around the Capitol Monday evening.
On Tuesday, about 100 demonstrators took over the floor of Cannon Office Building and were later arrested.
A coalition of groups that have been critical of Israel’s operations in Gaza are set to host an event inside a House office building to counter-program with the Netanyahu speech, with remarks from Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Israeli and Palestinian anti-war activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah.
The hosts of that event include: the Center for American Progress, Center for International Policy, Middle East Democracy Center, Win Without War, Americans for Peace Now and Common Defense.
Some of those groups have called for cutting off U.S. support for Israel.
Congressional members Don Beyer (D-VA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) will not be attending Netanyahu’s speech, as well as Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Some close to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s camps, namely, Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) are set to skip the speech.
Schakowsky said that Netanyahu is “among other things, bad for the state of Israel,” - “wants to see the continuation of this war” and “doesn’t seem to care at all about the hostages.”
Garcia said that “this is not the right timing” for the speech while hostages remain in Gaza and before a cease-fire deal has been reached.
“His focus should be completely on the work that’s got to be done in Israel and Gaza,” Garcia, who was the beneficiary of support from AIPAC’s United Democracy Project in his 2022 primary race, said.
Beyer said he wants to read Netanyahu’s remarks “but I don’t want to elevate his presence.”
Several members, including Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Mark Takano (D-CA) invited members to attend an event with hostage families on Wednesday morning, ahead of the speech.
Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) declined to stipulated if he would attend the speech, but his office noted that he will release a statement on Tuesday.
Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) said he was attending the Clyburn event instead of the Netanyahu speech, though the two events are not being held simultaneously.
Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he would be skipping the speech but that he does the same with all joint session speeches.
Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), who did not attend Netanyahu’s Congress speech in 2015, will be attending this time.
“It’s a show of respect to the country,” Jackson, who has been critical of Israel’s operations in Gaza, said. “Although I have serious misgivings about the leadership of Mr. Netanyahu, I do support Israel and so I think I have an obligation as a member of Congress to hear the head of state of Israel.”
Hoyer, who had warned that the speech might not be helpful for support of Israel, said it’s up to members to decide whether to attend, but “I am going to be there. He is the prime minister of a country, the prime minister of Israel, a country I am very close to and I support very strongly.”
A host of protests are planned for outside the Capitol Building during the speech, including by anti-Israel demonstrators, Jewish groups critical of the war and Jewish groups critical of Netanyahu.
UnXeptable, the grassroots Israeli-American anti-Netanyahu group initially formed to protest Israel’s judicial reform efforts, is leading one of the protests at the same time of Netanyahu’s speech.
Offir Gutelzon, the co-founder of UnXeptable, called Netanyahu a man who “divides and conquer.”
Gutelzon said Netanyahu should not address Congress before signing a hostage deal.
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