Democratic Leaders Join Republicans in Inviting Netanyahu to Give Speech Before Congress

Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP

Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress at a date to be determined.

The Hill first reported Friday that the invitation went out as “a show of wartime support for the longtime ally despite mounting political divisions over Israel’s military assault on Gaza.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-TN) and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) issued the invitation, writing:

We invite you to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combatting terror and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region.

Some Democrats have soured on Netanyahu’s hard-line approach to rooting out Hamas, criticizing Israel for creating a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces continue to push ahead with the war, however, confirming Friday that its forces are now in central Rafah. More than a million Palestinian civilians have fled the fighting there, and tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in the enclave since the bombing began.

Also Friday, President Joe Biden called on Hamas to accept a new three-phase ceasefire plan proposed by Israel in exchange for the hostages Hamas has been holding since it attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

“Israel has made their proposal. Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it,” Biden said.

From a NATO meeting in Prague Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed U.S. support for Israel by condemning an arrest warrant the International Criminal Court issued against Netanyahu for war crimes. Blinken said:

With regard to policy and the ICC, look, we’ve been very clear about this: the decision that the prosecutor made was, in our judgment, profoundly wrongheaded. And, in creating the equation between Hamas and Israel — Hamas’ leaders and Israel’s democratically elected leaders — as we’ve said, as I’ve said, it’s, quite frankly, shameful.