Dozens of lawmakers are boycotting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, as President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris prepare to meet with Bibi at the White House the following day.
From No. 2 Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to House Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), nearly all of the absences will be Democrats who oppose Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza.
“I will stand by Israel, but I will not stand and cheer its current Prime Minister at tomorrow’s Joint Session,” Durbin said in a statement Tuesday.
Durbin also echoed the words of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who in a March speech on the Senate floor called for new elections in Israel and declared Netanyahu an “obstacle to peace.”
Pelosi, who has also called for Netanyahu to resign, will not attend the speech either.
“Speaker Pelosi will not be attending today’s Joint Meeting of Congress,” a spokesman said. “This morning, she will join a Members meeting with Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings.”
