Updated Jul 24, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Around half of Congress' Democrats skip Netanyahu speech

Andrew Solender

Democratic members of Congress sitting and standing in the House chamber. — House Democrats gathered for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress on July 24, 2024. Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images.

Roughly half of House and Senate Democrats skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, according to an Axios headcount.

Why it matters: Many lawmakers, particularly progressive Israel critics, made clear they were explicitly boycotting the event in protest of Netanyahu's prosecution of the war in Gaza.

Among the boycotters are former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Isolationist Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) made clear he was explicitly boycotting the speech as well, saying he didn't want to be a "prop" for Netanyahu.

By the numbers: Roughly 100 House Democrats and 28 Senate Democrats were present in the chamber for the Israeli prime minister's speech, meaning around half of both caucuses were absent.

Most of the lawmakers who did attend the speech are on the more moderate, pro-Israel side of the party, including many swing-district lawmakers.

By the numbers: Wednesday's boycott was significantly larger than the 58 Democrats who skipped Netanyahu's 2015 speech to Congress.

That speech was controversial because it was seen as a snub of then-President Obama and gave Netanyahu a platform to castigate him over the Iran nuclear deal.
But relations between Netanyahu and Democrats have become even more strained during the Israel-Hamas war, with many pro-Israel Democrats growing increasingly critical of the humanitarian cost of the conflict.

The intrigue: A handful of Netanyahu critics did show up, including progressive Jewish Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who was holding, and at times reading, a book titled "The Netanyahu Years."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian-American in Congress and a strident critic of both Netanyahu and Israel, attended wearing a keffiyeh — a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.
Further into the speech, Tlaib began holding up a sign that said "guilty of genocide" on one side and "war criminal" on the other.

Go deeper: Trump to meet Netanyahu Friday at Mar-a-Lago

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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