According to the letter obtained by The Hill, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been formally invited to address Knesset.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on Friday sent a formal invitation to Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, signed by all four congressional leaders: Speaker Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies (R-N.Y.).
“We stand with the State of Israel in the fight against terrorism, particularly as Hamas continues to take American and Israeli citizens captive and its leaders endanger regional stability,” the letter read. “To that end, on behalf of the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, I ask that you address this joint session of Congress.”
A source familiar with the matter told The Hill that the speech is expected to take place “as early as within the next eight weeks or immediately after the August recess.”
The invitation was delayed by weeks before Schumer departed Washington after a high-profile congressional speech in March in which he declared Netanyahu had “lost his way” and called for new elections in Israel, angering Israel’s longtime leaders, Republicans and some Democrats.
Although Sen. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in U.S. history, and his office have repeatedly said they support Netanyahu addressing Congress despite the Senate Majority Leader’s harsh criticism of the Israeli prime minister, the New York Democrat did not sign the letter until recently.
Netanyahu’s visit to the Knesset is sure to spark outrage among liberals in both chambers of Congress, who have criticized the conservative leader’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, particularly as the humanitarian toll in Gaza continues to rise.
These sentiments deepened last week when the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), of which the United States is not a member, sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli and Hamas leaders, alleging that they are “criminally responsible” for a range of war crimes.
