JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left a brutal war behind on Monday for Washington to deliver a politically volatile speech to the U.S. Congress amid growing uncertainty following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race.
Netanyahu’s speech could spark turmoil on both sides of the Atlantic, as efforts to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continue, fears grow that the war will spread to Lebanon and Yemen and the United States is in the midst of a fast-paced election campaign.
Biden’s decision on Sunday to withdraw from the presidential race has raised the risks even further, especially since his successor, the Democratic nominee – and the next US leader – has yet to be decided.
Before boarding the plane, Netanyahu said his speech would emphasize the theme of Israeli bipartisanship, saying Israel would remain America’s main ally in the Middle East “regardless of who the American people choose as their next president.”
“In this time of war and uncertainty, it is important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand side by side,” he said, adding that he would meet Biden during the visit and thank him for his support for Israel.
A person familiar with Biden’s schedule confirmed Sunday that the president will host Netanyahu at the White House. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the exact timing of the meeting has not been decided because Biden is recovering from COVID-19.
Netanyahu is due to address parliament on Wednesday and also meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
Netanyahu will address parliament with several audiences in mind: his ultra-nationalist governing partners who are key to his political survival, the Biden administration which he counts on for diplomatic and military support, and Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which may offer him a re-established relationship if re-elected in November.
His comments risk angering either of these constituencies, something Israel’s leaders cannot afford if they want to maintain their precarious grip on power.
“There are some landmines and pitfalls in this trip,” Eitan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations at Israel’s Bar Ilan University, said before Biden left. “He’s supposed to be a political magician who knows how to get out of traps. I’m not sure he knows that yet.”
This will be Netanyahu’s fourth speech to parliament – more than any other world leader – during which his far-right government partners will be eager to hear his determination to continue the war and defeat Hamas.
The Biden administration will seek to advance the latest U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal and details of a post-war vision, and Republicans hope Netanyahu can tarnish Biden and bolster his reputation as a staunch supporter of Israel, as Republicans hope.
The war, which began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, has tested Israel’s relationship with its biggest ally like never before.
The Biden administration has staunchly sided with Israel. But it has grown increasingly alarmed by the actions of the Israeli military, particularly the continued difficulties in transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza after the short-lived U.S. military wharf off the coast of Gaza, Israel’s lack of a postwar plan, and the harm it has caused to Gaza’s civilians. Those same concerns are likely to continue if Americans elect a new Democratic president.
Biden froze deliveries of certain bombs earlier this year, fearing they would be used in an Israeli invasion of Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip that at the time was sheltering more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.
The United States called for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in a UN Security Council vote in March but did not combine the two, a decision that Netanyahu called a “backslide” from a “principled position” by Israel’s allies.
Biden has been walking a tricky tightrope himself, facing sharp criticism from progressive Democrats and many Arab Americans. Even Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States, blasted Netanyahu’s handling of the war in March.
Some Democrats are likely to express anger toward Biden and Netanyahu for skipping Wednesday’s speech, and Netanyahu could also come under fire from pro-Palestinian activists during the visit.
Netanyahu last addressed Congress in 2015 at the invitation of the Republican Party, a visit that deepened partisan divides in Israeli and American politics and saw Netanyahu sharply criticize then-President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal.
Netanyahu has not shied away from making Israel a partisan issue, voicing his nationalist-conservative ideology and seeing his support for Republican candidates in the past, angering Democrats and Israelis who want to keep U.S.-Israel relations bipartisan.
It is unclear whether Mr Netanyahu will meet with Mr Trump – if he does, he could again face accusations of taking sides – but if he does not meet with Mr Trump, he may feel slighted.
The speech will also be an opportunity for Netanyahu to show Israel that U.S. support remains unwavering despite tensions with the Biden administration.
“President Trump wants the Israeli people to believe they are still very much welcome in the United States, and this shows that the American people support him,” said David Makovsky, director of the Arab-Israeli Relations Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
To Netanyahu’s critics, the embrace is unacceptable and lends legitimacy to a highly divisive leader whose public support has plummeted as he faces widespread protests and calls to resign over his handling of the Oct. 7 fiasco and war.
In a letter to parliament, 500 Israeli writers, academics and public figures expressed disappointment in Netanyahu’s invitation, saying he would use the opportunity to push forward misguided policies aligning him with his far-right government partner.
“His only concern is maintaining his own power,” they wrote. “Does the U.S. Congress want to support such a cynical and manipulative model of leadership in times such as these?”
Israeli media reported that released hostage Noa al-Ghamani and her father would accompany Netanyahu, but for many of the families of the hostages held in Gaza, the visit is an affront.
“Now is not the time to travel,” Ayelet Levy Shachar, whose daughter Naama was kidnapped on October 7, told reporters.
“Netanyahu: First we agree, then we can travel.”
