Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is addressing Congress Wednesday in a speech he hopes will bolster his standing. Democrats have said there will be boycotts from some members.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is addressing Congress tomorrow in a high-stakes speech. He’s facing criticism – both at home and abroad – and Democrats say some members will boycott the event. There are plans for increased security measures as well because of outside protests. NPR congressional reporter Barbara Sprunt joins us now to talk about what to expect. Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, so earlier this spring, when this whole idea was first floated to have Netanyahu come and deliver a joint address to Congress, I mean, there was talk then about how this would put divisions among Democrats on display. Do you think that’s definitely still going to be the case this week?
SPRUNT: Well, you know, a lot has changed since the spring.
CHANG: Yeah.
SPRUNT: A lot has changed in the last 10 days.
CHANG: Yes.
SPRUNT: There was an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. There was the RNC. President Biden withdrew from the presidential campaign. Kamala Harris is now in the race. A lot has happened. So this speech just hasn’t gotten as much oxygen yet because there’s so much going on. And, of course, the war that Israel is waging against Hamas is still very much an issue that’s top of mind for many Democrats. But it feels like whatever boycott happens tomorrow may not have the potency that I imagine how Speaker Mike Johnson expected it would originally.
CHANG: OK. Well, this will be Netanyahu’s fourth time addressing Congress. And I remember there were boycotts during his last appearance in 2015. Does it feel like we’re expecting pretty much the same thing this time?
SPRUNT: Yes, there will certainly be boycotts from progressive Democrats, not to mention a lot of expected protests from activists who are angered by the way that Israel is waging its war against Hamas. New York Democrat, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, will not be attending tomorrow. She told me she thinks coming before the U.S. Congress is an honor.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: And personally, I don’t believe that the prime minister has lived up to that. And I have extraordinary concerns, and I don’t want to affirm or legitimize this with my presence.
SPRUNT: North Carolina Democrat, Kathy Manning, is going. And when I asked her how big of a problem she thinks it is if there are these noticeable absences from other Democrats, here’s what she had to say.
KATHY MANNING: I don’t think it makes that big of a difference. I think there is strong bipartisan support of the state of Israel. We’ve seen it with all the votes that have taken place, and we’ve seen it with the supplemental funding.
SPRUNT: Now, the dynamic that I think is most interesting in all this is actually the calculus for those who disagree with Netanyahu, the idea of – is it better to boycott the speech altogether in their minds, or is it more impactful to show up and make their displeasure known? I talked to Maryland Democrat, Jamie Raskin, about this.
JAMIE RASKIN: The difficult part is that you’re like a jack-in-the-box popping up and down because the speeches are written in such a way that either you clap or you’re a martian, right? That’s the problem with going. But the problem with not going, of course, is that you don’t see what’s happening, and you’re not able to immediately engage with it and respond to it.
CHANG: A jack-in-the-box or a martian – interesting. OK, well, aside from possible empty seats in the chamber from groups of Democrats, what do we expect from Netanyahu’s speech itself?
SPRUNT: We expect it will be less contentious than the speech he gave in 2015. He said that he wants to talk about bipartisan support that’s so critical for Israel. I expect he’ll talk about the threat that Israel faces from Iran-backed proxies, not just Hamas but Hezbollah. And I’ve spoken to some policy experts who say they want to hear him talk about a new hostage deal. We know there will be some people in the audience who have family members that were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.
CHANG: That is NPR’s Barbara Sprunt. Thank you so much, Barbara.
SPRUNT: Thank you.
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