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Alex Traiman
(JNS) House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer on May 31 issued a formal invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress. A date for the speech, July 24, was announced just over one week later.
While the United States was clearly in the middle of a contentious election cycle, there was absolutely no way to predict that by the time Netanyahu arrived, President Joe Biden would no longer be the Democratic candidate, or that Republican candidate and Former President Donald Trump would have just survived an assassination attempt.
Scheduling Netanyahu’s trip has been tedious. He was initially scheduled to meet with Biden and Harris on the days preceding the speech to Congress. Due to COVID in Biden’s case and campaign stops in Harris’s, it was unclear whether either would meet Netanyahu. The Trump team was also waiting to announce a meeting based on whether meetings with Biden and Harris would take place.
As of now, both Biden and Harris are currently on schedule to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday. Trump is now on schedule for Friday in Mar a Lago. And while Israeli press are invited to cover the meetings with Biden and Harris, no press is being invited to the meeting with Trump, in an attempt to ensure the meeting with a former president does not overshadow those with a sitting president and vice president.
Before the meetings were moved from earlier in the week, the prime minister would have had the final word, and the ability to address the results of his meetings from the floor of the Capitol. Now, both Biden and Harris will have the opportunity in their meetings to respond to Netanyahu’s remarks.
Netanyahu arrived with less than typical fanfare. Not only were Biden and Harris unable to greet Netanyahu at the airport, even Secretary of State Antony Blinken, America’s top diplomat, did not prioritize Netanyahu’s welcome. It was a less than subtle snub.
Similarly, Vice President Harris is abdicating one of her primary duties, namely presiding over the Senate at large state events, by choosing a campaign stop over attending Netanyahu’s speech.
Fortunately, a contingent of top Jewish communal leaders, as well as a contingent of pro-Israel Christian faith leaders, both gave Netanyahu warm and constructive welcomes in separate meetings with the prime minister.
Security for Netanyahu’s visit is at an all-time high, due both to the significant protests planned in response to his visit and the heated political climate in which the Secret Service just failed to prevent an assassination attempt on a former president.
American politics has never been in greater chaos. An argument could have been made for Netanyahu to steer clear amid the drama.
According to the narrative woven by most mainstream media, Israel’s war is controversial and Netanyahu is the controversial figure behind the war. Mainstream media has quickly forgotten that the war was declared by Hamas on Oct. 7 with the murder of 1,200 people and kidnapping of more than 250, most of whom were either in their homes or attending a music festival on a Jewish holiday.
Instead, the media focus on casualty figures produced by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health and on the biased rulings of the International Court of Justice. All while the International Criminal Court threatens to issue arrest warrants charging Israeli leaders with war crimes.
Many of the headlines Netanyahu has received so far on his visit have been predictably negative. Many are focused more on the protesters than on the critical messages the prime minister intends to deliver.
Protesters have amassed in large numbers outside the Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu is staying. Others barricaded themselves inside the congressional Cannon House Office Building. Some have been protesting outside the White House. Many more are expected outside Congress on Wednesday.
Several Democratic senators and representatives are refusing to attend the speech in protest. Others may attend only to disrupt the proceedings.
Had Netanyahu not arrived, the media would have stayed very busy covering presidential politics gone awry. But when an Israeli head of state gets invited to address a joint session of Congress, it is an invitation that simply cannot be turned down.
Then, less than 24 hours before Netanyahu boarded his newly minted Wings of Zion, the Israeli version of Air Force 1, Biden announced on X that he was bowing out of the presidential race, shortly afterward endorsing Harris. There was zero chance that Netanyahu would cancel the trip on such short notice, without the excuse of some sort of major emergency.
Yet there may be unexpected positives to emerge during Netanyahu’s address. First and foremost, Americans and the entire world for that matter, will get to see a seasoned statesman making the case for his nation, in a reasoned and responsible manner.
Netanyahu has not only the opportunity but the obligation to present Israel’s case to the world amid the political chaos that he is forced to lead his country through.
His speech is likely to answer the calls made to address a “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip. He is also expected to present new ideas for confronting the Iranian threat. Before Oct. 7, Iran only threatened to throw the Middle East into chaos. Now, the threats Netanyahu presciently warned of for years from the floor of the Capitol have become reality.
Netanyahu certainly hopes that his 2024 visit to Washington and speech to Congress will satisfy supporters, counter critics and justify all of the challenges and complexities.
Alex Traiman is CEO and Jerusalem Bureau Chief of Jewish News Syndicate.
