AOC and other progressives to boycott Israeli president’s joint address to Congress

Comes as Democrats face a test vote on Israel

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and a handful of other progressives will boycott Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s joint address to Congress on Wednesday.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez toldJewish Insider that she would not attend the joint address. In the same token, Reps Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Cori Bush (D-MO) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who is Palestinian-American, will also boycott Mr Herzog’s address, Haaretz reported.

“There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me and denied @RashidaTlaib the ability to see her grandma,” Ms Omar tweeted earlier this month.

“Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address comes on behalf of the most right wing government in Israel’s history, at a time when the government is openly promising to ‘crush’ Palestinian hopes of statehood — essentially putting a nail in the coffin of peace and a two-state solution,” she tweeted.

“In solidarity with the Palestinian people and all those who have been harmed by Israel’s apartheid government, I will be boycotting President Herzog’s joint address to Congress,’ Ms Tlaib tweeted.

But the vote comes amid a divide within the House Democratic caucus on Israel. During the weekend, at the Netroots Nation conference in Chicago, Ms Jayapal caught the ire of some Democrats for calling Israel a “racist state” when speaking with some pro-Palestinian protesters.

She later clarified her remarks and said she did not believe Israel as a nation was racist. Still, many pro-Israel Democrats, including the party leadership, condemned the remarks.

Rep Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) said he was not concerned about Democrats who boycott the address.

“Because I think nearly every single person will be there and we’re going to show the strong support for the US-Israel relationship,” he told The Independent. He also cited leadership’s remarks showing how vital the US-Israel relationship is.

Rep Ritchie Torres (D-NY), an ardent supporter of Israel, said he would attend.

“It's up to each member to make his or her own decision,” he told The Independent. “But I've made my decision in favor of attendance.”

In response to Ms Jayapal’s comments, House Republicans held a vote on a resolution that declared Israel was “not a racist or apartheid state” rejected “all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia” and reaffirmed US support for Israel. The resolution passed with 412 votes but nine Democrats, including nine progressives who will not attend Mr Herzog’s speech, voted against it. Rep Betty McCollum (D-MN), a frequent critic of Israel, voted “present.”

Mr Bowman condemned the vote held by Republicans.

“All they want to do is virtuous virtue signal, and fear monger and theatrics,” he told The Independent. This is the second time that the House GOP has held a vote to condemn a woman of color about her remarks about Israel as the House voted to remove Ms Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee for saying that US support for Israel is “All about the Benjamins,” for which she later apologised.

The vote also comes as House Republicans plan to have Robert F Kennedy Jr, the Democratic presidential candidate and anti-vaccine activist, testify before Congress on Thursday despite the fact he said that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” to spare Jewish people.