House Republicans are hitting out against a group of Democrats who say they’ll boycott a joint session of Congress next week featuring a speech from Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
At least three House Democrats, including Reps. Ilhan Omar , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , and Jamaal Bowman , have come out in opposition to Herzog’s address, saying they’ll boycott the event scheduled for Wednesday. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denounced their decision and accused the group of liberals of antisemitism.“I don’t think antisemitism should be anywhere, and especially shouldn’t be inside Congress,” McCarthy told reporters on Friday.
Democratic lawmakers have pushed back on those accusations, arguing the boycott is in protest to the policies of the Israeli government as well as its treatment of Palestinians. Omar was the first to come out against the joint address, saying in a tweet earlier this week there was “no way in hell” she’d be in attendance. Omar said her decision was made in part because of an Israeli policy to block Muslims from entering the country in 2019.
“WE SHOULD NOT BE INVITING THE PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL — A GOVERNMENT WHO UNDER ITS CURRENT PRIME MINISTER BARRED THE FIRST TWO MUSLIM WOMEN ELECTED TO CONGRESS FROM VISITING THE COUNTRY — TO GIVE A JOINT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS,” Omar said in a tweet, referring to herself and Rep. Rashida Tlaib .Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded to the boycott on Friday, noting that “individual members make individual decisions.” However, he noted that a majority of the Democratic caucus is expected to attend.
Herzog’s address isn’t the first time Democrats have boycotted a joint address of Congress featuring a foreign leader. The same group, with the addition of Reps. Cori Bush , Summer Lee , and Tlaib, similarly were absent for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s joint address last month.
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