Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to speak by both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders before a joint session of Congress. Though the leadership of both parties chose to invite Netanyahu, 96 representatives and senators chose not to attend the speech. This is double the number that refused to attend his address to Congress in 2015. Congress feels the heat, and they should, because thousands of demonstrators marched to the Capitol to condemn Netanyahu and Israel’s genocidal war which has taken the lives of 40,000 or more Palestinians in Gaza since last October.
The members of Congress who attended Netanyahu’s speech clapped and cheered as Netanyahu spelled out his intentions to carry Israel’s war through to the end, demanding “total victory.” This can mean nothing other than an endless war, motivated by Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government, to mercilessly continue killing Palestinians.
It’s true that some of the biggest names in Congress chose not to attend, Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris among them. Now that Biden is no longer the candidate for the Democratic Party, they can afford make a symbolic stand against Netanyahu while their party continues its overwhelming support for his war. Voters in key states such as Michigan, with a large number of Arab-Americans, have already shown their condemnation of the Biden administration, with 12 percent of them voting “uncommitted” in the Democratic Party primaries. This sentiment is linked to the mobilizations last year against Israel’s war, primarily but not limited to the college campuses where students erected highly visible protest encampments.
Netanyahu’s speech, the demonstrations against it, and the actions of politicians show all the pieces at work in American politics today where Israel is concerned. The outrage and social mobilization of young people especially, and the population more broadly, has brought pressure to bear on the Democratic Party. However, the Democratic Party represents the wealthy elite and it is committed to maintaining U.S. dominance of the Middle East, a policy in which Israel plays a key role. Pelosi and Harris may bluff and bluster against Netanyahu’s visit in the hope of gaining votes and support, but if a Democratic Party administration is secured for 2024, they will do exactly what they have done for decades – commit their full support to Israel no matter what atrocities it commits. We shouldn’t be fooled. If voting for the Democrats could change their policy towards Israel and the Palestinians it would have happened long ago.
Our strength is in the mobilization of our own forces, to do everything we can to force an end to U.S. support for Israel.
