{"id":1976991,"date":"2023-07-19T04:20:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T08:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netanyahu-looms-over-israeli-presidents-speech-to-congress-amid-democratic-split\/"},"modified":"2023-07-19T04:23:01","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T08:23:01","slug":"netanyahu-looms-over-israeli-presidents-speech-to-congress-amid-democratic-split","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netanyahu-looms-over-israeli-presidents-speech-to-congress-amid-democratic-split\/","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu overshadows Israeli president&#8217;s Congress speech amidst Democratic divide."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnetanyahu-looms-over-israeli-presidents-speech-to-congress-amid-democratic-split%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1976991&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Israel\u2019s President Delivers Address \u2063Before Congress, but Democrats Focused on \u2063Netanyahu<\/h2>\n<p>Isaac Herzog\u2063 arrived in Washington this week, marking the 75th anniversary\u200d of \u2063Israel\u2019s founding. While his \u200brole \u2062as president\u200b is largely\u2062 ceremonial, it is\u200c Benjamin\u200b Netanyahu, the country\u2019s\u200b prime minister, \u200dwho has\u200b been \u2063at the center of Democrats&#8217;\u2062 attention.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats are\u200d furious \u200cover\u2064 the expansion of Israeli \u200csettlements\u2063 in the West Bank and\u2063 Netanyahu\u2019s plan to curb\u2063 the \u200dpower of Israel\u2019s judiciary.\u2064 However, Herzog is viewed as \u2062a more palatable\u200d choice\u200d to Democrats, as \u200bhe is\u2062 more centrist in \u200bboth approach and\u2062 tone.<\/p>\n<p>The visit\u200b provided an opportunity \u200dfor \u2063Democrats to show bipartisan support \u2064for Israel, despite concerns about\u200c democratic \u2064backsliding.\u2063 However, the \u200btrip\u2063 has \u200cbecome \u200covershadowed\u200d by divisions over \u200cIsrael.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Democrats \u200bDivided Over Israel<\/h3>\n<p>  \u2062<\/p>\n<p>Rep.\u200d Pramila Jayapal\u200b (D-WA), the top progressive in \u2063the \u200cHouse, \u2062ignited \u2062controversy\u2064 by calling Israel\u2062 a \u2064&#8221;racist state.&#8221; Democratic\u2064 leadership \u200band a group of 43 House \u2062Democrats rebuked Jayapal&#8217;s \u2062statement, emphasizing that demonizing Israel is &#8220;dangerous and antisemitic.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>  \u2062<\/p>\n<p>A\u2062 vote\u2064 forced \u200cby Republicans confirmed that nearly all Democrats do not \u200bconsider\u200b Israel a &#8220;racist or apartheid state.&#8221;\u2063 However,\u200b tensions within \u200bthe \u2062Democratic Party \u2063over Israel have been underscored by this episode.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>While\u2062 Republicans increasingly offer unqualified \u2064support for \u2064Israel,\u200c Democrats adhere to the U.S. policy of a two-state solution and express\u200b more sympathy\u2063 for the Palestinians. They see Netanyahu as \u200dan\u200b obstacle to Palestinian statehood \u200cdue to his nationalist policies and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israel-is-reforming-its-judiciary-its-not-perfect-its-democracy\/\" title=\"Israel Is Reforming Its Judiciary.\u00a0It\u2019s Not Perfect, It\u2019s Democracy.\u00a0\">proposed judicial reforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>House Democrats have voiced varying degrees of criticism towards the prime minister. Democratic leadership\u200c diplomatically\u2062 expressed disagreement with &#8220;individual members of the current \u200cIsraeli\u200d governing coalition,&#8221; while \u200bJayapal clarified that she believes \u2062the \u2062Israeli government is\u2064 run by &#8220;extreme racists.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The\u2063 decision \u200bto invite Herzog, who attempted\u2064 to\u200b steer Netanyahu \u2064towards a compromise on \u200bthe judicial reforms, has not satisfied hard-line \u200cmembers\u200c of the\u200b Democratic conference.\u200b Some progressive members, including those in the\u2063 &#8220;Squad,&#8221; plan\u200b to skip the address, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netanyahu-looms-over-israeli-presidents-speech-to-congress-amid-democratic-split\/\" title=\"Netanyahu overshadows Israeli president's Congress speech amidst Democratic divide.\">citing human rights\u2062 abuses<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n \u2062 <\/p>\n<h3>Conflict \u2063with Netanyahu: Personality\u2062 and Policy<\/h3>\n<p>For mainstream Democrats, the\u200d conflict with Netanyahu is \u200bprimarily\u2063 a matter of personality and policy. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a strong supporter of\u200d Israel, \u2062called Herzog a\u200c &#8220;really great person&#8221; and\u2063 criticized the \u200cSquad \u2063for skipping \u2063the\u200b address.\u200b However, Pelosi expressed\u200d disdain for Netanyahu,\u200c stating that she wouldn&#8217;t \u200bfeel the same \u200cway about the prime\u200d minister.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The tensions between Democrats and\u200b Netanyahu \u2063are \u2063not new and predate the judicial\u200b reforms. Netanyahu clashed\u200b with President Barack Obama over the Iran\u200b nuclear deal,\u2063 leading \u200cto\u2063 several Democrats skipping \u2063his speech before Congress in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden&#8217;s\u200c relationship with \u200bNetanyahu remains cool. Biden\u200c has criticized\u200c the prime minister&#8217;s Cabinet as\u2063 extreme, and\u200d their meeting was only confirmed on Monday. \u2064It is uncertain whether Netanyahu will\u200d be invited to the\u200c White\u2063 House during\u200c his upcoming\u200c visit to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration has \u200durged\u2063 Netanyahu to compromise \u2063on his proposed judicial \u2062reforms, emphasizing\u200b their shared democratic principles. However, \u2062Democrats have been cautious\u200d about\u2062 pushing too hard publicly. \u200bHouse leaders aim to \u2062demonstrate\u200d their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-to-give-ukraine-everything-it-needs-for-as-long-as-it-takes-biden-national-security-adviser-says\/\" title=\"Biden's adviser promises full support to Ukraine indefinitely.\">continued \u200bsupport<\/a> for \u2063Israel, despite a \u2064small but vocal \u200cgroup of lawmakers who are highly critical.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, only nine \u200bmembers\u2062 voted against a\u2063 resolution reaffirming \u2064support for Israel, and Rep. Pete \u2062Aguilar (CA) predicted strong attendance\u200d from\u200d colleagues for Wednesday&#8217;s address.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s \u200cunity\u2063 in the Democratic caucus,&#8221; Aguilar stated.\u200c &#8220;I think you&#8217;ll see that \u2063with strong attendance from our colleagues on \u2064the \u200dHouse \u2063floor to see the\u2062 president of Israel address us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">Click here<\/a>\u200b to \u2063read more from The \u2064Washington\u200d Examiner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>prime minister, holds the real power. However, Democrats are more focused on Netanyahu due to his controversial policies and strained relationship with the Biden administration. Herzog&#8217;s visit serves as a reminder of Israel&#8217;s history, but it is Netanyahu who remains a central figure in the political discourse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1976992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1976991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1976991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1976992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1976991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1976991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1976991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}