Last July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress, though he did so with many Democrats, including then-President Joe Biden and -Vice President Kamala Harris--the latter of whom was supposed to preside--skipping out of the event. He's returned to Capitol Hill for another visit, though this time it looks to be a much different situation, least of all because Israel has more of an ally in President Donald Trump. While Netanyahu is reportedly meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), that may not be the case with another top Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The Monday edition of the Daily Kickoff for Jewish Insider shared details about Netanyahu's visit, with the prime minister having arrived on Sunday. Tuesday's edition had even more about who he's meeting with, and potentially not.
As the latest edition mentioned:
Netanyahu will spend much of Thursday on Capitol Hill, first meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and then members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, followed by a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Foreign Affairs Committee members.
There’s less of a focus on meeting with Democratic leaders, with the party now out of power in Washington and Netanyahu on the receiving end of much criticism from them in recent years.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), but has no meeting on the calendar with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Schumer’s office did not respond to a question about whether he will be meeting with the Israeli prime minister.
Yes, as Jewish Insider mentions, Democrats are indeed "now out of power in Washington," and they've indeed criticized him heavily. That they maligned and sought to turn him into a pariah might be more accurate, especially when it comes to all the boycotts from last July's address. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) had to be reprimanded for holding a sign declaring Netanyahu to be a "war criminal" and "guilty of genocide." Then there's how Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) gleefully offered to serve the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for the prime minister. Tlaib, a member of the anti-Israel Squad, isn't the only one to go after Netanyahu. Tlaib and now-former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, another member of the Squad, both referred to Netanyahu as a "maniac." Still, another Squad member, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), is also not such a fan, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) especially is not.
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But, Schumer is the highest-ranking Jewish lawmaker in Congress. This was particularly on display during the widely celebrated address he gave to Congress in late November of 2023, when he aptly called out the far-left for their antisemitism. It was shortly before it had been two months since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
While Schumer, unlike many other Democrats, did attend Netanyahu's address, he memorably did not shake the prime minister's hand. Just months before, he had called for Israelis to hold new elections to oust Netanyahu. Such comments were not well received, especially in Israel, including by Netanyahu's political opponents.
Even more recently, Schumer last week led all but one Democrat--Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)--in voting against a bill sanctioning the ICC. This included new senators who had voted for the bill when they were members of the House, such as Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
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