Congressional leaders confirmed last Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s anticipated address before a Joint Session of Congress was set for July 24.
The four leaders of the House and Senate sent a letter to Netanyahu on March 31 formally inviting him to speak before Congress.
The invitation, signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, reiterated the US’s support for Israel in its “struggle against terror.”
The lawmakers said that in light of the US and Israeli hostages still held captive by Hamas and the terror group’s threat to “regional stability,” they were inviting the prime minister to address a joint session of Congress “to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy” and “combatting terror” to establish a “lasting peace in the region.”
In a June 1 post on X, Netanyahu shared the letter and said he was “thrilled” to have the “privilege to represent Israel” and “present the truth” about its “just war” against Hamas before Congress “and the entire world.”
Some media outlets reported last weekend that the prime minister’s address was scheduled for June 13. However, Netanyahu’s office said on June 4 that the speech would not take place at that time because June 13 was the second day of the Shavuot holiday.
Speaker Johnson later told reporters that congressional leadership would announce the date of the address once it had been finalized.
The Israeli prime minister’s congressional address has divided Democrat lawmakers, many of whom object to the invitation.
In a statement in late May, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an outspoken critic of the Netanyahu government, described Netanyahu as a “war criminal” and announced that he would not attend the prime minister’s address.
