{"id":2273270,"date":"2024-06-21T07:49:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T11:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/political-fractures-emerge-around-netanyahu-speech-before-congress\/"},"modified":"2024-06-21T07:55:38","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T11:55:38","slug":"political-fractures-emerge-around-netanyahu-speech-before-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/political-fractures-emerge-around-netanyahu-speech-before-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Political divisions surface over Netanyahu&#8217;s Congressional address"},"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\">14<\/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%2Fpolitical-fractures-emerge-around-netanyahu-speech-before-congress%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=2273270&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--><p>The \u200dvisit of Israeli\u200c Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress on July 24 \u2063is anticipated to be highly contentious. This tension arises \u200bamidst growing divisions \u200bwithin the \u2064Democratic Party regarding the U.S. support for\u200b Israel as it continues its \u2063military actions against Hamas, which\u2064 has caused a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-sends-1-1-million-rounds-of-seized-iranian-munitions-to-ukraine\/\" title=\"U.S. ships 1.1M seized Iranian munitions to Ukraine.\">significant \u200chumanitarian crisis<\/a>\u2063 in Gaza. Netanyahu&#8217;s past actions, including his\u2064 perceived partisanship favoring Republicans, a speech during \u200dthe Obama\u200b administration criticizing U.S. \u2063foreign policy, and recent criticisms \u200cagainst the Biden administration, have\u200c alienated \u200bmany Democrats. As \u200ca result, some Democrats have stated they will not \u200dattend his speech, and concerns have been\u200b voiced about \u200bNetanyahu\u2019s visit deepening\u2064 divides \u2062within the party and impacting U.S.-Israel relations negatively. However, figures like Rep. Josh \u200dGottheimer (D-NJ) hope the \u200devent could unify rather than divide, emphasizing the importance of U.S.-Israel\u2064 ties.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Normally, a visit to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Congress<\/a> from the leader of a key U.S. ally in wartime wouldn\u2019t be controversial. But Israeli <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/benjamin-netanyahu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> isn\u2019t a normal world leader. And his scheduled July 24 speech to a joint session of Congress has the potential to be uniquely divisive.<\/p>\n<p>It comes amid increased global pressure on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Israel<\/a>, seeking to finish its military campaign against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hamas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Hamas<\/a>, the terrorist group that murdered about 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, while also committing rape and kidnapping, with an estimated more than 130 people still being held hostage eight months later. <\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks before a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill on March 3, 2015. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) listen. (Andrew Harnik\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s not just about U.S. support for Israel as its war against Hamas stretches on. That has become a flashpoint within the Democratic Party as many on the Left grow increasingly concerned about the scale of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-blast-biden-for-ignoring-border-crisis\/\" title=\"Republicans Blast Biden for Ignoring Border Crisis\">humanitarian problems<\/a> in the Gaza Strip as a result of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, it\u2019s about Netanyahu himself. The result is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-lesko-reissues-call-for-special-counsel-to-probe-hunter-biden\/\" title=\"Rep. Lesko reissues call for special counsel to probe Hunter Biden\">growing list<\/a> of Democrats who have said they will not attend the Israeli <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uk-govt-lockdown-to-last-12-months-expect-repeated-vaccinations\/\" title=\"UK Govt: Lockdown to Last 12+ Months, Expect Repeated Vaccinations\">prime minister<\/a>\u2019s scheduled speech in July and increased grumbling about the decision of Senate Majority Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-schumer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Chuck Schumer<\/a> (D-NY) to sign on to the invitation from House Speaker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-johnson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Mike Johnson<\/a> (R-LA) for Netanyahu to come to Washington.<\/p>\n<p>While there has long been a dedicated rump of anti-Israel Democrats in the House, the bigger concern is that Netanyahu is considered a partisan actor in American politics who has sought to undermine Democrats for over a decade, going back to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/associated-press-doubles-down-on-left-wing-rhetoric\/\" title=\"Associated Press Doubles Down on Left-Wing Rhetoric\">2012 presidential election<\/a>, in which he all but endorsed Republican presidential nominee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mitt-romney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Mitt Romney<\/a>. This continued with his 2015 speech before Congress in which he lobbied against the Iran nuclear deal and criticized the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/foreign-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>foreign policy<\/a> of then-President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Barack Obama<\/a> from the dais of the House of Representatives. The speech not only alienated Democrats but failed to stop the implementation of the nuclear deal with the Iranian regime.<\/p>\n<p>This ornery relationship hasn\u2019t improved during the war. On June 18, Netanyahu released a brief English-language video online in which he<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BarakRavid\/status\/1803065399937806392\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> claimed<\/a> the United States had been withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel. The result was<a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2024\/06\/19\/netanyahu-video-biden-cancels-iran-meeting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> befuddlement and outrage<\/a> from President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>administration<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Even his invitation from Schumer, who delivered a scathing attack on Netanyahu on the Senate floor in March, calling for new elections in Israel and labeling the Israeli prime minister an obstacle to peace in the region, has come under heavy criticism. However, Johnson did not need Schumer\u2019s permission to invite Netanyahu to address the House. The 2015 speech, during Obama\u2019s administration, solely required the invitation of then-House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican. Instead, Schumer\u2019s decision to join with Johnson in bringing Netanyahu to Capitol Hill has been framed as an effort to try to depoliticize the remarks. The New York Democrat told reporters earlier in June, \u201cI have clear and profound disagreements with the prime minister, which I have voiced both privately and publicly and will continue to do so. But because America\u2019s relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends one person or prime minister, I joined the request for him to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The question puzzling Democrats is whether all of Schumer\u2019s efforts to lower the temperature will be for naught and that, instead, Netanyahu will use his speech to create further division within the party and attempt to further make U.S. support for Israel a partisan matter that divides Democrats and Republicans. <\/p>\n<p>One senior Democratic aide on Capitol Hill thought the speech was a terrible idea and had major concerns about how this would make the already tenuous relationship between Netanyahu and Biden even more toxic and further undermine support for Israel among congressional Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>The dread of Netanyahu\u2019s visit has long been clear. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), a close Biden ally,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/chris-coons-senator-delaware-face-the-nation-transcript-06-09-2024\/\"> said on <\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/chris-coons-senator-delaware-face-the-nation-transcript-06-09-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Face The Nation<\/a><\/em>  earlier in June, \u201cPrime Minister Netanyahu has a long record of being very partisan and very divisive.\u201d Coons added, \u201cPrime Minister Netanyahu isn\u2019t just divisive here, he\u2019s divisive at home,\u201d as he noted the long-lasting protests against the Israeli leader initially stemming from his failed effort at judicial reform, which has bled into continuing dismay with his conduct of the war and failure to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas. <\/p>\n<p>Other Democrats agreed. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) told the <em>Washington<\/em> <em>Examiner,\u00a0\u201c<\/em>I don\u2019t think it is good for the Israelis to try to divide Democrats and Republicans.\u201d However, he noted that he thought Netanyahu\u2019s motivations seemed invariably to be focused on \u201cshort-term\u201d gain and immediate political benefit.<\/p>\n<p>However, some held out hope that the event could somehow be unifying. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), an ardently pro-Israel centrist, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, \u201cI don\u2019t think it should create a wedge [among Democrats]. I think this is about how the United States and Israel are key critical allies in the fight against terror.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Netanyahu, though, is not the only actor here. <\/p>\n<p>As Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) pointed out, \u201cIt\u2019s members that get to decide whether or not they make it partisan. I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first-term House member added, \u201cI would encourage all my colleagues to ensure that it isn\u2019t partisan and it doesn\u2019t become a divisive thing. We engage in a way that advances the things that we clearly all have in common, which is we want Israel to survive \u2014 most of us do \u2014 and we want an end to this war. We want the hostages returned, and we want a post-conflict reality where there is peace and stability and an infinitely better future for the Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But, for many Democrats, the well has already been poisoned and the legacy of Netanyahu\u2019s past interventions in American politics is too much. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA)<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/meet-the-press\/meet-press-june-16-2024-n1310082\"> said on <\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/meet-the-press\/meet-press-june-16-2024-n1310082\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Meet The Press<\/a><\/em>, \u201cI will not attend. I said that if he wants to come to speak to members of Congress about how to end the war and release hostages, I would be fine doing that. But I\u2019m not going to sit in a one-way lecture. \u2026\u00a0 I mean, how he treated President Obama, he should not expect reciprocity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Others are still weighing their options. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) was cagey when asked recently by the <em>Washington<\/em> <em>Examiner<\/em> about his plans to attend. \u201cA month is like lightyears from here,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m very hopeful that we are going to get a ceasefire and get this beyond this nightmare, but I have literally not had a minute to turn through a stack of mail about whether members should go or not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, with a month still to go before the speech, events could always dramatically change the circumstances in which Netanyahu speaks in Washington. There could be a ceasefire as part of a deal to free the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Or there could be an escalation along Israel\u2019s border with Lebanon, which has faced constant bombardment by Hezbollah.<\/p>\n<p>But the key variable is always whether Netanyahu makes the calculation that further polarizing the U.S.\u2019s relationship with Israel is worth any possible short-term gain in his country\u2019s perpetually turbulent domestic politics. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After all, when Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) was asked by the <em>Washington<\/em> <em>Examiner<\/em> whether Netanyahu\u2019s speech would be helpful for the American alliance with Israel, the answer was succinct. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDepends on what he says.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Ben Jacobs is a writer based in Washington, D.C.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress on July 24, typically uncontroversial for a wartime ally, could be exceptionally divisive. Netanyahu&#8217;s leadership style and the timing of his speech amidst heightened global tensions contribute to the potential controversy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3222,"featured_media":2273271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/WB.Congress.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2273270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/WB.Congress.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273270","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\/3222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2273270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2273271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2273270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2273270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2273270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}