House Speaker Mike Johnson invites PM Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress
Ynet also noted that Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer intended to sign the letter of invitation; Netanyahu agreed to the invitation, though a date for the speech has not yet been set.
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint-session of Congress, Ynet reported on Friday.
Ynet also noted that Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer intended to sign the letter of invitation. Netanyahu agreed to Johnson's invitation, though a date for the speech has not yet been set.
Delivering a keynote speech at the Israeli embassy's annual Independence Day reception, Johnson said it would be “a strong show of support for the Israeli government in their time of greatest need.”
The diplomatic gathering came amid strains between Biden and Netanyahu over a US push for Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians in the war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Additionally, an Israeli official said this year that the embassy wanted to honor lawmakers in a bipartisan way with high-profile speaking roles in appreciation for congressional approval of new US military aid to Israel.
Potential pushback from Democrats
This follows reports by Axios that plans to invite Netanyahu to address Congress would result in backlash from Democrats, with some calling on Schumer not to sign the invitation addressed to Netanyahu. Many Democrats reportedly said that Netanyahu should be focused on freeing hostages, and said that now is not the right time for the address amid tensions over the war. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to the idea of inviting Netanyahu by saying “No,” Axios noted in their report on Wednesday.
Other Democratic Party sources reportedly said that “Netanyahu’s speech to Congress would be a grave mistake. It would increase polarization and highlight the disagreement between Democrats and Republicans over the conduct of Netanyahu and Israel.”
Reuters and The Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
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