WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver a speech at the Capitol, a show of wartime support for the longtime ally despite growing political divisions over Israel’s military assault on Gaza.
The invitation of House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, along with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries , has been in the works for a while. No date has been set for the speech.
The leaders said the invitation was intended to “highlight America’s solidarity with Israel.”
“We invite you to share the Israeli government’s vision of defending democracy, combating terror and building a just and lasting peace in the region,” they wrote.
The invitation comes as the war between Israel and Hamas, now in its seventh month following the October 7 surprise attack by the Palestinian militant group, has raised widespread concerns in the US and abroad about Israel’s conduct and extensive civilian casualties .
A Netanyahu speech would almost certainly highlight election-year divisions in the US, where a growing number of Democrats have turned away from the right-wing prime minister while Republicans inch closer to the Israeli leader.
As Israel pushes into Rafah in Gaza, the International Criminal Court has charged Netanyahu and his defense minister, along with three Hamas leaders, with war crimes — a largely symbolic act, but one that further isolates the Israeli leader.
When President Joe Biden supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, he denounced the ICC’s case against Netanyahu, but he has nevertheless become critical of Israel’s war plans and pushed for guarantees of humanitarian aid.
It is unclear whether Biden and Netanyahu will meet in Washington.
In Congress, debates over the war between Israel and Hamas have been heightened, heated and divisive, and amplified during the college campus protests this spring, showing how once rock-solid support for Israel has weakened and splintered.
Schumer, the top Jewish elected official in the US, issued a sharp rebuke of the Israeli leader in March, saying in a speech that Netanyahu had “lost his way.”
Republicans, including presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, were eager to show their support for Netanyahu and expose Democratic divisions over Israel.
Johnson first suggested inviting Netanyahu, saying it would be “a great honor of me” to invite the Israeli leader, following Schumer’s own negative comments.
More recently, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York became the highest-ranking Republican elected official from the U.S. to address the Israeli parliament.
In 2015, Netanyahu was invited by a former Republican speaker to address Congress in a rebuke of then-President Barack Obama during disputes over Iran.
