WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to bolster U.S. support for his country’s fight against Hamas in a congressional address Wednesday that sparked boycotts by some Democrats and drew thousands of protesters.
“America and Israel must stand together,” said Netanyahu, who wore a yellow pin expressing solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas. “When we stand together something really great happens: we win, they lose.”
With criticism against him rising in Israel, too, Netanyahu also aims to portray himself as a statesman respected by Israel’s most important ally. That is complicated by Americans’ increasingly divided views on Israel and the war, which has emerged as a key issue in the U.S. presidential election.
Tall steel barriers ringed the Capitol Wednesday, and police deployed pepper spray as thousands of protesters rallied near the Capitol, denouncing Netanyahu as a “war criminal” and calling for a cease-fire.
Netanyahu received a warm welcome from House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and other Republican lawmakers who arranged his speech in the House chamber. “Today and every day, America must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel,” Johnson said shortly before Netanyahu began speaking. He received a bipartisan standing ovation.
The most notable absence was right behind him: Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as president of the Senate, said a long-scheduled trip kept her from attending.
More than 50 congressional Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from the 1st District, skipped the address and gave lengthy statements detailing their reasoning.
King called himself “an unwavering supporter of Israel” and said it had the right to defend itself following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that started the war. But he criticized what he called Netanyahu’s failure to plan for a post-war Gaza and has harmed Israel’s standing and eroded the chances of Middle East peace as a result.
“While I will always continue to be a friend of Israel, I cannot support the Prime Minister on his current course and therefore will not be in attendance today,” he said.
Pingree, who has long stood out among Maine’s delegation on Israel and signed onto an April letter urging Biden to suspend military aid, did not attend a similar Netanyahu address in 2015. She said Netanyahu was using the speech for personal and political gain, condemning Hamas and noting that she met with families of Israeli hostages on Wednesday.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has slow-walked ceasefire and hostage negotiations, bowed to extremists in his coalition who oppose a two-state solution, actively delayed humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians, and created a worse security environment for both of our countries,” she said.
Republicans said the absence of Harris, the new Democratic front-runner for the presidency, was a sign of disloyalty to an ally. Former President Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, was also a no-show for Netanyahu’s speech, citing campaign demands. Netanyahu will meet with President Joe Biden and Harris on Thursday, and with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
Many in the swelling crowds of demonstrators protested the killings of more than 39,000 Palestinians in the war. Others condemned Netanyahu’s inability to free Israeli and American hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.
Support for Israel has long carried political weight in U.S. politics. But the usual warm welcome for Netanyahu’s visits has been diminished this time around by political turmoil, including the assassination attempt against Trump and Biden’s decision not to seek another term.
Many Democrats attended the address despite their criticism of Netanyahu, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who called for new elections in Israel in a March floor speech. Schumer, of New York, said then that Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The United States is Israel’s most important ally, arms supplier and source of military aid. Netanyahu’s visit is his first abroad since the war started, and comes under the shadow of arrest warrants sought against him by the International Criminal Court over alleged Israel war crimes against Palestinians. The United States does not recognize the ICC.
Story by Ellen Knickmeyer, Farnoush Amiri and Ashraf Khalil. Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick and Alanna Durkin Richer and BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.
