Netanyahu to address Congress on July 24

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, top Republicans announced Thursday night.

Congress’ four top leaders officially invited Netanyahu to speak to lawmakers on Friday, ending weeks of speculation about whether or not the prime minister would have the opportunity to visit the Capitol amid Israel’s war against Hamas. Netanyahu accepted the invitation on Saturday.

“The bipartisan, bicameral meeting symbolizes the enduring relationship between the US and Israel and will offer Prime Minister Netanyahu the opportunity to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending its democracy, combating terrorism and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region.” , President Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement Thursday night.

The announcement of a date for the speech excluded the names of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.), who signed the letter inviting Netanyahu to speak to Congress last week.

The notable omissions come as progressive Democrats in both chambers have expressed strong disapproval of Netanyahu’s speech, with some already vowing to skip the event. Schumer also expressed her opposition to Netanyahu in a speech in March, calling for new elections in Israel and declaring that the former conservative leader had “lost his way.”

The Senate leader — who is the highest-ranking Jewish official in American history — issued a statement Thursday night that emphasized his support for the U.S.-Israel relationship but did not address his absence from the date announcement.

“I have clear and deep differences with the Prime Minister, which I have expressed both privately and publicly and will continue to do so. But because America’s relationship with Israel is rigid and transcends a person or a prime minister, I joined the call for him to speak,” Schumer said.

Netanyahu’s speech next month will mark the fourth time he has given a speech before a joint meeting of Congress, following visits to the US in 2015, 2011 and 1996.

His speech this year will certainly provoke intense outrage among liberal democrats, who are outraged by the rising number of humanitarian deaths in the Gaza Strip. Some of them already say they intend to boycott the speech.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to speak at a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement last week.

The issue of the Israel-Hamas war has been controversial in the Democratic caucus, where pro-Palestinian progressives have found themselves at odds with staunchly pro-Israel Democrats.

These divisions were recently on full display after the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, the Israeli defense minister and Hamas leaders, claiming they “bear criminal responsibility” for a list of war crimes. Pro-Israel Democrats criticized the ICC, accusing it of establishing a false equivalence between the leaders of Israel and Hamas, while pro-Palestinian liberals called for respect for the court’s rulings.

The US does not recognize the ICC and does not consider Americans to be under its jurisdiction.

Johnson first proposed the idea of ​​inviting Netanyahu to speak to Congress in March, shortly after Schumer called for new elections in Israel. Netanyahu’s invitation process, however, was delayed for several weeks as Schumer delayed signing a letter extending the invitation to the Israeli leader.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story