Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel will deal with a joint assembly of Congress on July 24, the highest two congressional Republicans introduced on Thursday night time.
Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority chief, stated in a press release that the speech would supply Mr. Netanyahu the chance to “share the Israeli authorities’s imaginative and prescient for defending their democracy, combating terror, and establishing simply and lasting peace within the area.”
However in a separate assertion that hinted on the deep political divides over Mr. Netanyahu and Israel’s struggle in Gaza, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the bulk chief, stated he harbored “clear and profound disagreements with the prime minister, which I’ve voiced each privately and publicly and can proceed to take action.” He stated he nonetheless had joined the request for Mr. Netanyahu to handle Congress as a result of “America’s relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends one individual or prime minister.”
Earlier this yr, Mr. Schumer known as for Mr. Netanyahu to step down and for Israel to carry new elections.
The bipartisan invitation to Mr. Netanyahu, issued final month by the highest 4 congressional leaders with no date connected, masked a fraught behind-the-scenes debate over receiving him. The necessity for separate statements from the leaders of the 2 events explaining their totally different rationales for extending the invitation underscored these tensions.
Some progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont have already promised to boycott the speech, calling Mr. Netanyahu a “struggle prison” for his ways within the struggle in opposition to Hamas, which has killed tens of 1000’s of individuals in Gaza and precipitated a humanitarian catastrophe.
Republicans, in distinction, are desirous to hug Mr. Netanyahu shut and unequivocally again his insurance policies. Mr. Johnson has been the driving drive behind the invitation.
“I’m very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel earlier than each homes of Congress and to current the reality about our simply struggle in opposition to those that search to destroy us to the representatives of the American individuals and your entire world,” Mr. Netanyahu stated in a press release accepting the invitation.
