Netanyahu looks to boost US support in speech to Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak before Congress in hopes of bolstering US support for continuing Israel’s offensives against Hamas and other adversaries.

But boycotts of his appearance by some Democratic politicians and expected protests outside are highlighting how his hardline government’s conduct of the devastating war in Gaza is opening fissures in longstanding American support for his country.

Mr Netanyahu is assured a warm welcome from Republican politicians who arranged his speech in the House chamber, an appearance making him the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of Congress four times, surpassing Winston Churchill.

Many Democrats and political independent Bernie Sanders plan to boycott Mr Netanyahu’s appearance.

But the most notables absence will be behind him: vice president Kamala Harris, who serves as president of the Senate and traditionally would sit behind whatever dignitary is speaking, says a long-scheduled trip will keep her away.

And the next Democrat in line, Senator Patty Murray of Washington, is declining to attend.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would be meeting with families of Israeli victims of Hamas instead.

Republicans targeted the absence of Ms Harris, the new Democratic front-runner for the presidency, as a sign of disloyalty to an ally.

However, former president Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, said campaigning would also make him a no-show for the Israeli leader’s speech.

And outside the Capitol, demonstrators angry over the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians, or over Mr Netanyahu’s inability to free Israeli and American hostages taken by Hamas and other militants in the first hours of the Israel-Hamas war, are promising massive protests.

In anticipation, House Speaker Mike Johnson warned of a “zero-tolerance policy” for any signs of disturbances in the Capitol building.

“It is our tradition to acknowledge every guest speaker’s right to free expression even if we disagree with their viewpoint,” the Louisiana Republican wrote to members on Tuesday.

Mr Johnson arranged the address, an honour that marks both the two countries’ historically warm bonds and the political weight that support for Israel has long carried in US politics.

But the attention for the visit has been diminished some by American political turmoil of recent weeks, including the assassination attempt against Mr Trump and President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek another term.

Mr Netanyahu hopes to project the image of a tough, respected statesman for an increasingly critical domestic audience back home in Israel.

That may be difficult given the wide division among Americans over Mr Netanyahu’s conduct of the war.

Many Democrats who support Israel but have been critical of Mr Netanyahu see the address as a Republican effort to cast itself as the party most loyal to Israel and to provide the prime minister with a much-needed political reprieve.

“I don’t know all the motivations for Speaker Johnson initiating the invitation but clearly he wanted to throw a political lifeline to Netanyahu whose popularity is very low in Israel right now,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, among the dozens of Democrats set to boycott, said on Tuesday.

Still, many Democrats plan to attend the address despite their criticism of Mr Netanyahu, including Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, who called for new elections in Israel in a March floor speech.

Nr Schumer, of New York, said then that Mr Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu also is to meet with Mr Biden and Ms Harris on Thursday, and Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.

The United States is Israel’s most important ally, arms supplier and source of military aid as Israel battles to break Hamas since the group attacked Israel on October 7.

Mr Netanyahu’s visit is his first abroad since the war started, and comes under the shadow of arrest warrants sought against him by the International Criminal Court over alleged Israel war crimes against Palestinians. The United States does not recognise the ICC.