Bera, Jayapal, Khanna To Boycott Netanyahu’s Address To Congress

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to address a joint session of Congress, a significant number of Democratic lawmakers have announced they will not attend. Their decision comes amidst escalating tensions in Gaza and concerns over Netanyahu’s policies.

U.S. Representative Ami Bera (D-CA) issued a statement expressing his reasons for boycotting the address. “As someone who cares deeply about Israel’s future, and after listening to the family members of American hostages held captive by Hamas, I’ve made the decision not to attend Prime Minister Netanyahu’s joint address. It is imperative to agree to a ceasefire, release the hostages, and negotiate a future that promises peace and stability for Israelis and Palestinians. Prime Minister Netanyahu must no longer stand in the way of a ceasefire and an agreement for Hamas to return the hostages. Strong leadership is needed to pressure Hamas to accept this ceasefire and commit to the peace process. I urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire deal that has been brokered by President Biden to bring the hostages home and end the horrific suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians.”

Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) echoed similar sentiments in her statement. “Prime Minister Netanyahu should not have been invited to come and speak to the U.S. Congress. I cannot in good conscience sit and listen to him speak as Palestinian people starve and hostages, including Israelis and Americans, remain in captivity. He has used US taxpayer dollars for a horrific assault on Gaza and the Palestinian people and continued to flout both international humanitarian law and our own US domestic law in denying humanitarian assistance to Gaza and launching indiscriminate attacks that have killed over 38,000 Palestinians and injured over 88,000. The Netanyahu government has vocally opposed a two-state solution, a stated position of the United States. I do not believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu is interested in reaching a deal for a ceasefire that would return the hostages and bring peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. In fact, I believe he has been actively working against these goals for his own political self-preservation. This is simply not the way he should be engaging with Israel’s largest funder of military assistance and we must use all our leverage to make it clear we will not continue to support offensive military assistance to Israel until we achieve a ceasefire and bring all the hostages home.”

Jayapal added that she would be attending a panel discussion focused on the path to peace, rather than Netanyahu’s address. “Tomorrow morning, I will join my colleagues in meeting with the families of hostages taken in the horrific October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, to listen to and strategize on their efforts to bring their loved ones home and to give witness to their pain and suffering. And then, instead of attending Netanyahu’s address, I will attend a panel discussion led by the Center for American Progress and other organizations on the path to peace. This event will feature a Palestinian leader, a Jewish Israeli leader, and a former IDF soldier – all of whom are dedicated to finding a path toward peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) also declared his intention to boycott the speech, telling CNN, “I just don’t think we should be listening to a one-way lecture from Netanyahu when he’s had a failed strategy on the board.” He had earlier said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” “I will not attend. I said that if he wants to come to speak to members of Congress about how to end the war and release hostages, I would be fine doing that, but I’m not going to sit in a one-way lecture.”