Reuters

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Foreign Relations Chair, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), listen as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., July 24, 2024. REUTERS/Craig Hudson

By Patricia Zengerle and Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the U.S. Congress on Wednesday he was confident that efforts to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza would succeed while pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to nearby streets.

“As we speak we’re actively engaged in intensive efforts to secure their (hostages) release. And I’m confident that these efforts can succeed,” he said after being greeted by a standing ovation.

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers skipped his speech to Congress, expressing dismay over the thousands of civilian deaths and the humanitarian crisis from Israel’s campaign in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Hamas-led fighters triggered the war on Oct. 7 by storming into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 captives, according to Israeli tallies. Some 120 hostages are still being held though Israel believes one in three are dead.

“America and Israel must stand together,” Netanyahu said as he began his speech, after walking in to uproarious applause and shouts from Republicans and a more subdued reception from Democrats.

It was a record fourth speech by a foreign leader to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives, surpassing British wartime leader Winston Churchill, who made three.

Thousands of demonstrators took to nearby streets amid the tightest security since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The Capitol building was surrounded by high fencing, with a heavy police presence.

Just before Netanyahu spoke, the U.S. Capitol police reported that some of the protests had become violent, prompting them to use pepper spray.

Pro-Palestinian groups and university students have for months protested in the U.S. against Israel’s offensive in Gaza, a Hamas-ruled enclave where health authorities say nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly all of its 2.3 million people have been displaced.

Netanyahu praised the Israeli military and denounced the Hamas attack, in remarks greeted with standing ovations and cheers from Republicans, as many Democrats – who have criticized the heavy death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza – sat quietly.

Republican leaders in Congress orchestrated the visit, but it was less confrontational than Netanyahu’s last in 2015 when Republicans sidestepped then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and Netanyahu used his speech to criticize Obama’s Iran policy.

On this visit, Netanyahu sought to bolster his traditional links to Republicans but also looked to ease tensions with President Joe Biden, a Democrat whose support he will rely on for the remaining six months of the president’s term.

Netanyahu dismissed the anti-war protesters in Washington as “anti-Israel,” saying they are funded by Israel’s traditional enemy Iran and accusing them of being Tehran’s “useful idiots.” He blamed reports of hunger in Gaza on Hamas.

ABSENT LAWMAKERS

Some lawmakers said they were uncomfortable about appearing to endorse Netanyahu and his hard-right coalition government as he faces declining poll numbers in Israel.

Others said they wanted Netanyahu to focus on reaching a ceasefire agreement and bringing home all of the hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7, in the deadly raid that precipitated the Israeli campaign in Gaza.

“For him, this is all about shoring up his support back home, which is one of the reasons I don’t want to attend,” Senator Chris Van Hollen told reporters. “I don’t want to be part of a political prop in this act of deception. He is not the great guardian of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

A Republican House member, Representative Thomas Massie, also said he would not attend. “The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war. I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be attending,” Massie wrote on X.

Some of the most prominent Democrats skipped the speech. They included Senators Dick Durbin, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, Tim Kaine, Jeff Merkley and Brian Schatz, all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Patty Murray, who chairs Senate Appropriations.

In the House, absentees were to include progressive Representatives Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as Ami Bera and Joaquin Castro, senior members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Adam Smith, the top Democrat on Armed Services and Rosa DeLauro, his counterpart on the appropriations committee.

Smith said he never attends joint meetings but also described himself on Tuesday as “very, very opposed to what Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing in Israel.” 

The longtime Israeli leader delivered his speech to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives in a city preoccupied with domestic politics.

Biden announced on Sunday that he was ending his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination to challenge Republican Donald Trump.

Harris, who normally would preside over the speech as vice president, will not be attending. Neither will Republican Senator JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential running mate.

Murray would have presided, as the senior Senate Democrat, in Harris’ absence. Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, who leads the foreign relations committee, will replace her.

Biden and Harris will both meet Netanyahu on Thursday, and are expected to press him for progress toward a ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas. Harris has at times been more forward-leaning than her boss in criticizing Israel for heavy Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza.

Netanyahu was to travel to Florida to meet with Trump on Friday. The meeting will be their first since the end of Trump’s presidency, during which the two forged close ties.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Richard Cowan and Doina Chiacu; editing by Don Durfee and Howard Goller)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.

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