Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said he would “not attend” a speech given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Republican and Democrat lawmakers invited Netanyahu to speak before a “Joint Meeting of Congress.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote a letter addressed to Netanyahu on Friday, inviting him to speak before a “Joint Meeting of Congress.”
“It is a very sad day for our country that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited – by leaders from both parties – to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress,” Sanders said in his statement.
While Sanders acknowledged that Israel had a “right to defend itself against” Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, which left 1,200 murdered and more than 250 people taken as hostages, he added that “It did not, and does not” give Israel the right “to go to war against the entire Palestinian people.”
Sanders continued to reference how the International Criminal Court (ICC) had announced it was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders.
It is a very sad day for our country that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited – by leaders from both parties – to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress.
Netanyahu is a war criminal. I certainly will not attend. pic.twitter.com/0tQgVGv3qa
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) June 1, 2024
“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal,” Sanders continued. “He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend.”
Sanders has been critical of Israel as it has continued a military offensive operation against Hamas in the aftermath of the U.S.-designated terror organization’s attack on Israel.
At the beginning of May, during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sanders said Israel had broken international law and should not get “another nickel” from the United States in foreign aid.
When asked in an interview with CNN what exactly Israel should do to eliminate Hamas, Sanders has stated that it is “a difficult issue,” and that Israel can not “destroy the entire people” in Gaza.
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