Neither President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris greeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife upon their arrival in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
Netanyahu’s visit marks his first trip to Washington in nearly four years. He is set to deliver a speech before Congress on Wednesday, outlining Israel’s strategy to address the growing threat from the Iranian regime, which launched a direct attack in April, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Harris has declined to attend Netanyahu’s address to Congress, citing a previously scheduled event, CNN reported. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and more than 30 other Democratic lawmakers plan to boycott Netanyahu’s speech.
“Speaker Pelosi will not be attending today’s Joint Meeting of Congress. This morning, she will join a Members meeting with Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings,” a spokesperson for Pelosi stated.
United States Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) criticized fellow lawmakers for boycotting the speech and turning their backs on Israel. “Kamala Harris & the Democrats have a SERIOUS anti-Semitism problem,” Donalds wrote on X. “They cheer on pro-Hamas agitators. They no-show Netanyahu’s arrival. They refuse to attend his speech. They hide their meetings for optics. They take American Jews for granted.”
According to the Times of Israel, Biden was previously slated to meet with Netanyahu on Tuesday, but the meeting was pushed back because the president was reportedly quarantining in Delaware after testing positive for COVID-19. The news outlet reported that the meeting was rescheduled for Thursday. Netanyahu is expected to have a separate meeting with Harris the same day, the Times of Israel reported. Additionally, it noted that Trump plans to sit down with Netanyahu on Friday at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Trump confirmed the Friday meeting in a post on social media that included a letter from Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestine. Abbas’ correspondence condemned the recent assassination attempt against Trump. In his post, Trump wrote, “Looking forward to seeing Bibi Netanyahu on Friday, and even more forward to achieving Peace in the Middle East!”
Meanwhile, thousands of pro-Hamas protesters are expected to gather at Capitol Hill to protest the prime minister’s visit and push Congress to pull funding from Israel. A pro-Hamas organization posted a video on Wednesday claiming to have released maggots and other insects at the hotel where the Israeli delegation is staying, the New York Post reported.
“BON APPETIT!! MAGGOTS RELEASED ON THE CRIMINAL ZIONIST’S WAR TABLE! Palestine protestors manufactured chaos at the Watergate Hotel last night so that Netanyahu, Israeli Mossad agents, and the Secret Service had no peace as they continue to terrorize our people,” Palestinian Youth Movement wrote on X.
https://x.com/palyouthmvmt/status/1816127273067512175
