Netanyahu Speech Sharpens Democrats’ Israel Divide

Rep. Sara Jacobs is the youngest Jewish lawmaker in the U.S. Congress, with close ties and family in Israel. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a joint address to Congress this week, Jacobs says she won’t be there.

“I think it sends the wrong message at the wrong time,” Jacobs said.

She is one of dozens of Democrats in Congress expected to skip the address, according to interviews with multiple lawmakers and congressional staff, underscoring how much Israel has hemorrhaged its historic support among Democrats in Washington as its war against Hamas in Gaza drags into its 10th month.

“Everyone is making decisions for themselves,” Jacobs said. “Many of my colleagues are horrified by the conduct of the Israeli government during this conflict, and I think there will be many who skip this address.”

Netanyahu’s visit caps off months of intensive debates within the Democratic Party over its approach to Israel and the Palestinians, with traditionally centrist Democrats—including, most prominently, President Joe Biden—who staunchly back Israel clashing with a rising progressive wing of the party that advocates for either reassessing or drawing back U.S. support from Israel. That debate has only intensified since Biden, an ardent supporter of Israel, announced over the weekend that he would drop out of the presidential race and Vice President Kamala Harris swiftly emerged as his replacement.

The question of whether Israel’s strong relationship with the United States, and in particular the Democratic Party, can outlast a Biden administration has significant ramifications for the Middle East. The United States has historically centered its Middle East strategy on support for Israel, and Israel relies heavily on U.S. aid to maintain its military edge in a region filled with rivals and adversaries.

Many progressive Democrats, including Jacobs, have criticized Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, where more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry. But Israel is also facing new waves of scrutiny from centrist Democrats such as Sen. Tim Kaine and Rep. Elissa Slotkin over its wartime strategy that stoked a massive humanitarian crisis and that critics say has cost too many civilian lives.

Their criticism has led some analysts to predict that Israel risks permanently losing the Democratic leg of its long-standing bipartisan support in Washington without major changes, even as Netanyahu faces domestic political pressure at home to resign.

When Biden announced that he was stepping aside in the 2024 race, some questioned whether Harris, who is seen as having closer ties to younger progressives in the Democratic Party than Biden does, might be more critical of Israel if she became president. But Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America and a former national security advisor to Harris when she was in the U.S. Senate, pushed back on that idea.

“She’s been very consistent and clear in her support of Israel. I haven’t seen her position waiver, and I think her and the president are on the same page on this issue,” Soifer said of Harris. “There is no daylight between them.”

However, Harris—who as vice president would typically preside over a joint session of Congress—will not attend Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday. Instead, she is scheduled to be on the campaign trail in Indianapolis. She is expected to meet with Netanyahu separately on Thursday, though, a U.S. official confirmed.

The next senior-most senator, Democrat Patty Murray, the Senate president pro tempore, also declined to preside over Netanyahu’s speech, several congressional aides confirmed. The job will instead fall to Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who is retiring at the end of his term.

Republican lawmakers have sharply rebuked Harris and other Democrats for not attending Netanyahu’s address. They argue that it undercuts a key U.S. ally in the Middle East as it fights what Israel’s closest allies in Washington believe to be a war for its survival against a hostile terrorist group following the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war.

“It is deeply disappointing that Harris and some of my colleagues in both chambers are choosing not to attend the joint session,” said Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “We need to show the world our united determination to eradicate terrorism and bring home all of the hostages. I hope my colleagues will reconsider and attend this important address.”

“I’m not surprised that some of the more radical members of the Democratic Conference may boycott, but it’s shameful when their top leadership is so willing to abandon a key ally,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn said.

Some Democratic lawmakers, like Kaine and Harris, say they aren’t attending because of previously scheduled events. (Sen. J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump’s new vice presidential running mate on the Republican ticket, is also skipping the speech to attend campaign events.)

But other Democrats, such as Jacobs, are explicitly boycotting Netanyahu and his government coalition, which includes several far-right extremist members.

“All of us who care about our partnership in America and in Israel should understand the enormous damage that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his current extremist government coalition are doing to our relationship and to Israel’s standing in the world,” said Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who announced on Tuesday that he would also boycott Netanyahu’s speech.

Some Democrats have also voiced fears that Netanyahu could use his speech to criticize Biden, in a repeat of a 2015 speech that damaged Netanyahu’s relationship with the Obama administration.

Some Democratic lawmakers are drafting new amendments designed for major policy and funding bills that would aim to condition some U.S. military aid to Israel and call for more oversight on whether Israel is complying with international humanitarian law to limit civilian harm, according to four congressional aides familiar with the matter.

These are expected to be tacked on to drafts of the National Defense Authorization Act and the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, two major pieces of legislation that oversee billions of dollars in U.S. national security and diplomatic programs and funding. Congressional aides cautioned that those bills are still being debated and it’s unclear what amendments would make it into the final versions that are passed.

Top Israeli officials, meanwhile, have launched what several congressional aides and U.S. officials said amounts to a damage control campaign ahead of Netanyahu’s visit.

Israeli officials said Netanyahu’s speech will focus on a bipartisan message and the ongoing importance of U.S. support for Israel during the war. Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer traveled to Washington this week to preview Netanyahu’s speech to top White House officials, several officials said. Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog, meanwhile, has traveled to Capitol Hill dozens of times in recent months to meet with lawmakers as Democratic criticism of Netanyahu’s war strategy mounted, congressional aides said.

“Since October 7th, [Herzog’s] engagements on Capitol Hill have increased to maintain open lines of communication with lawmakers and continue working to strengthen the Israel-U.S. alliance,” a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy said. “The frequency of the Ambassador’s meetings with members of Congress is not unique to the Prime Minister’s visit.”

Even as other major national news eclipses Netanyahu’s visit, Capitol Hill is still bracing for massive protests and demonstrations. On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Congress’s Cannon House Office Building with large signs reading “Let Gaza Live” and “Ceasefire Now” before being dispersed or arrested by Capitol police. Security cordons are being set up around the Capitol amid a heightened security alert, and Capitol police are preparing for thousands more protesters to flock to the area on Wednesday as Netanyahu gives his address.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson sent an internal letter to all House members—both Democrats and Republicans—warning them and their guests of the body’s rules of decorum in a move seen as an attempt to head off more protests. “If any Member creates a disturbance, the Sergeant at Arms will request that such action be ceased immediately,” he wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Foreign Policy. “[W]e trust that request will be heeded.”