by Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed Congress on Wednesday morning, describing the US-Israeli relationship as a “sacred bond,” linking criticism of the country’s government to anti-Semitism and trying to ease concerns that their democracy is receding.
Herzog’s speech before a joint meeting of Congress marked the second by an Israeli president, after his father, Chaim Herzog. in 1987.
He called the “true friendship” between the US and Israel one “based on values,” and praised the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords as well as the Biden administration. efforts to negotiate a rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Herzog also described a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians as his “deep yearning”, though he did not back any specific proposals in line with his largely apolitical and ceremonial position as president.
Shortly after his speech, senior Biden administration officials announced that they had tentatively reached a deal to allow Israel into the US. Visa Waiver Programas long as you meet the program requirements before September 30.
Later Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris will host Herzog in a bilateral meeting at the White House, where the two leaders will announce a new $70 million investment, split equally between the two countries, in climate technologies, according to a White House official.
The president’s speech comes amid US concerns about Israeli government settlements in the occupied West Bank and a proposal for Jewish reform spearheaded by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would give Netanyahu’s allies control over the appointment of judges, among other proposals. Defenders of the reform say it would limit the powers of unelected judges, while critics say it would destroy the guardrails of Israel’s democracy.
For his part, Herzog, who had previously criticized the proposal, offered a tacit concession to observers who say the reform endangers Israel’s democracy, but also moved to allay those concerns.
While calling the debate over the plan “painful” and “deeply baffling,” Herzog added that he is confident Israel’s democracy remains strong even as the country resolves its “problems.”
“Israel has democracy in its DNA,” he said.
The United States is Israel’s largest arms supplier and the country has long enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Congress, but some Democrats, particularly progressives, now appear increasingly skeptical of the US-led alliance. and Israel.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, apologized Sunday for calling the country a “racist state” after her comments drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.
“I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state, that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy, that the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us, that it doesn’t even feel possible. Jayapal said as he addressed a group holding Palestinian flags at a conference for the progressive Netroots Nation over the weekend.
jayapal backed off his comments on Sunday, saying they were targeting Netanyahu’s right-wing government. On Monday, 43 Democratic congressmen issued a statement calling his comments “unacceptable.”
“Israel is the rightful homeland of the Jewish people and efforts to delegitimize and demonize it are not only dangerous and anti-Semitic, but also undermine the national security of the United States,” the lawmakers wrote.
In his speech, Herzog said that he respects criticism of the State of Israel, “including some expressed by respected members of this house,” although he does not necessarily have to accept it. He did not mention Jayapal by name, but seemed to link his criticism, and that of other progressives, of the Israeli government with the violation of the country’s sovereignty.
“Criticism of the state of Israel must not cross the line into denying the state of Israel’s right to exist,” Herzog said. “Questioning the right of the Jewish people to self-determination is not legitimate diplomacy. It’s anti-Semitism.”
On Tuesday, the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution, authored by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, condemning anti-Semitism and expressing support for Israel, with 195 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting for the measure. He did not mention Jayapal by name, but said Congress believes Israel “is not a racist or apartheid state” and rejects all forms of anti-Semitism and xenophobia.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., criticized the resolution, arguing that it normalizes violence against those living in the occupied West Bank. She, along with several other progressive legislators like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-CortezDN.Y., promised to boycott Herzog’s speech before Congress.
“We are here again reaffirming Congress’s support for apartheid,” Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, said Tuesday as Congress debated the resolution. “Control the words of women of color who dare to speak about the truth, about oppression.”
Earlier this month, Israeli forces carried out their most extensive operation in decades in the occupied West Bank. That came after months of intensified troop incursions into the West Bank as Israel’s far-right government faces internal pressure to crack down after a series of militant attacks.
International observers have long accused Israel of human rights violations in the occupied West Bank. a 2021 Human Rights Watch report He said the country’s policies constitute “apartheid crimes and persecution.”
