At least 80 House Democrats, including former Speaker Pelosi and several Senate Democrats, will be boycotting Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.
The list of House Democrats is still growing, but as of publication time, at least 80 have announced that they will not be attending Netanyahu’s speech.
CNN’s Jim Acosta reported, “Dozens of members of Congress, including the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, plan to skip the address either in protest are due to a quote, unquote scheduling conflicts.”
Video:
.@Acosta “Dozens of members of Congress, including the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, plan to skip the address either in protest are due to a quote, unquote scheduling conflicts.” pic.twitter.com/bWYmWbSJYS
â PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) July 24, 2024
The New York Times also reported:
In the Senate, several members of the Democratic caucus plan to skip the address, including Senators Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 leader, and Patty Murray of Washington, the president pro tempore.
Senators Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, and Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, also planned to abstain. In an interview, Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, said he was skipping, saying of Mr. Netanyahu: âI donât want to be part of a political prop in this act of deception, because heâs not the great guardian of the U.S.-Israel relationship.â
It is possible to support Israel without supporting Netanyahu, who is the Israeli Trump, even down to the corruption and criminal charges that he is facing. Each Democrat has to make a constituent choice in an election year. For Democrats who represent Jewish constituencies in the House, it makes political sense for them to attend the speech, but the boycott is justified given the actions of the Netanyahu government in Gaza.
Republicans set up this speech as an election-year stunt, and those who are boycotting are wise not to participate.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association