This afternoon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak before a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., more than nine months into the Israel-Hamas war and at a time of political uncertainty in both the United States and Israel.
The speech is also taking place as intense talks continue over a deal that would pause the fighting for at least six weeks in exchange for the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas.
Netanyahu will deliver the address at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and it will be streamed on C-SPAN as well as major networks and news sites.
Netanyahu is expected to call for continued American military aid to Israel and to maintain a close U.S.-Israel relationship. He is expected as well as to emphasize the dangers Iran poses, via its own capabilities and its proxies, to Israel, the United States and other western countries. Hostage families, many of whom have portrayed Netanyahu as an obstacle to a hostage release deal, have implored him to use the speech to announce that Israel will accept the proposed agreement on the table.
This will be Netanyahu’s fourth address to Congress, and the first since 2015. That speech sparked controversy because he used it to rail against President Barack Obama’s nuclear arms control agreement with Iran. Dozens of members of Congress did not attend that speech in protest.
Similar controversy has swirled around this speech, which comes amid continuing protests over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis in the territory. Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which launched the war, killed some 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostage. Since then, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has reported that more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have also been killed in battle.
A number of Democratic lawmakers will not be attending the speech, including progressive leaders such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi likewise said she will not attend, and instead said she would meet with “Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings.” Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is Jewish and a pro-Israel stalwart, said he would attend but castigated Netanyahu as “the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2100 years ago.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, will be skipping the speech to campaign, as will Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee.
Outside Congress, masses of pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to gather. A group of Israelis that opposes Netanyahu, in solidarity with the mass protests he faces at home, is also expected to demonstrate.
Netanyahu met with hostage families on Monday, who later told members of Congress that he was not doing enough to secure the release of their relatives. On Tuesday, he met with evangelical Christian leaders, who he praised “for their strong and constant support of Israel.”
Netanyahu will meet in Washington on Thursday with President Joe Biden as well as Harris. He will meet with former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, on Friday in Florida.
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