Democrats have had to snap back to reality with Netanyahu

The Israeli PM’s address has reopened a topic that has divided the Democratic caucus

For the past few days, Democrats have been euphoric. Many clearly feel like they finally have a shot at winning the presidential election, now that President Joe Biden has announced he will not seek re-election.

The president will give an Oval Office address this evening explaining his decision.

Vice President Kamala Harris has been on a blitz, swiftly earning numerous endorsements from every wing of the Democratic Party.

During Harris’s first speech as a candidate for president in Milwaukee, she received a raucous applause as she laid into Project 2025.

The Trump campaign for its part has scrambled to regroup, resorting to copying and pasting their attacks against Biden onto Harris. And on Tuesday, the Trump campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission to block Harris from touching the Biden campaign’s $90 million warchest.

But on Wednesday, Democrats got a snapback to reality when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an address to Congress.

Before the Biden bedlam, no issue had divided Democrats more than Israel’s military response to Hamas following the October 7 attacks. Progressives responded to the war — which has led to over 35,000 Palestinian deaths — by calling for a ceasefire and many of them voted against providing Israel additional aid in April. More than 38 Democratic members of Congress — including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — all boycotted the Netanyahu address.

Indeed, many Democrats who otherwise support Israel have sharply criticized the Netanyahu government lately. Sara Jacobs, the youngest Jewish-American member of Congress, told The Independent why she would not be attending.

“I just came from listening to hostage families who were very clear that the most important thing to get their family members back is to end the war and to get a ceasefire,” she said. “That's what we should all be focused on doing and I know that’s something President Biden has been focused on and something Vice President Harris has been focused on as well.”

Representative Kathy Manning, a pro-Israel Democrat from North Carolina, remained tight-lipped when asked if she was disappointed that some Democrats would not attend.

“I'm going there because I feel strongly about the US-Israel relationship. I'm also going there to hear what he has to say about the hostages,” she told The Independent.

Manning was one of a handful of Democrats who last year voted to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the only Palestinian-American congresswoman, for her remarks about Gaza, which many claimed were antisemitic. It is a claim Tlaib firmly denies.

Most suspected that Tlaib would not attend Netanyahu’s address. But as members filed in, she showed up wearing a keffiyeh. Throughout the speech, she remained seated and periodically held up a sign saying “War Criminal.”

Many of the Democrats who remain in tough races for re-election in November attended the address. Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, whom prior to running for office ran a synagogue, attended, as did Senators Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, both of whom hail from states that voted twice for Donald Trump.

Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, who has been floated as a potential running mate for Harris, also attended the address and sat in the front row, smack-dab in front of the prime minister, frequently applauding.

During his address, Netanyahu not only thanked Biden, whom he’s known for decades, but also thanked Donald Trump.

This mention of Trump angered Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat who is Jewish and supports a ceasefire in Gaza.

“I thought this was a speech for the Republican National Convention that really didn't belong in the US House of Representatives, the way I heard it,” Raskin told The Independent.

Raskin represents Maryland’s heavily Jewish suburbs of Washington, DC and received criticism when he voted against providing aid to Israel.

But Democrats are not the only ones who are split on Israel. Throughout the address, Republicans including Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado applauded Netanyahu’s words, despite the fact they voted against aid to Israel in April.

“I voted against aid for Hamas, that’s what I voted against,” Boebert told The Independent, likely referring to aid meant for Palestinians in Gaza, while still saying she supported Israel. “And I was deeply saddened and embarrased that there was $6 billions to Gaza.”

The seeming inconsistency shows that Republicans are willing to vote against necessary aid to Palestnians, even if it means voting against aid to a country many vaunt as the most important alliance the United States has.