Netanyahu goes to Congress: Is controversial address for the US or Israel?

Prime Minister's visit 'may reek of desperation', expert says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will on Wednesday address members of Congress at the US Capitol amid historic tension with Washington over the Gaza war.

Mr Netanyahu's visit puts on display two conflicting realities in the country.

On the one hand, the US-Israel relationship is “subject to more scrutiny than ever before”, said former US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross.

And on the other, “most Americans don't care about the Middle East”, says Brian Katulis, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

“We have our own drama,” Mr Katulis said, referring to the turmoil surrounding this year's presidential elections.

Mr Ross, a former ambassador who played a leading role in peace process negotiations during the administrations of George HW Bush and Bill Clinton, said Mr Netanyahu has the job of “creating a sense of legitimacy” for Americans about Israel's war in Gaza.

The scale of destruction in Gaza has damaged historically pro-Israel Washington's support for its ally.

The visit comes as the death toll from Israel's military operations in the enclave passes 39,000, according to local authorities, and as the UN agency for Palestinian refugees says that nine out of 10 people are displaced.

The war started with the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, which claimed 1,200 lives.

Mr Ross told The National that Mr Netanyahu will aim to “address an American audience at a time when he sees increasingly that Israel's story isn't being told effectively”.

“Instead, the suffering of Palestinians seems to be the only image that people have,” he said.

But Mr Katulis said Mr Netanyahu's visit is mainly geared towards rehabilitating his domestic image at home amid mounting outrage over the war and continuing hostage crisis.

“It may reek of desperation,” Mr Katulis told The National.

Mr Netanyahu “did not protect his country on October 7, has not yet found the pathway to the thing he wants most, which is normalisation with Saudi Arabia, and he won't get there because he and his coalition partners and most of the Knesset now reject state of Palestine”, he said.

Hadar Susskind, a dual US-Israeli citizen and head of progressive group Americans for Peace Now, agreed that Mr Netanyahu's visit is “100 per cent” focused on bolstering his position in Israel.

Mr Susskind said Mr Netanyahu's political persona is built on the notion that he is “Mr Security” and that “he is the one who knows how to manage the Americans”.

Given the awkward timing of Mr Netanyahu's visit – domestic chaos surrounding the US presidential election in November has largely drowned it out – Mr Katulis said: “The irony is the trip might end up being a nothing-burger, meaning that it doesn't produce anything.

"And it just serves to remind people back home, but also in the United States, that Netanyahu is a weak, wounded leader at home."

Pro-Israel organisations such as the US Israel Education Association (USIEA), on the other hand, say the visit to Capitol Hill can lead to real results.

EJ Kimball, the USIEA's director of policy and strategic operations, says Mr Netanyahu's engagement with Congress will foster discussions on “strategies to eliminate Hamas and free the hostages, the necessity to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organisation and efforts to rebuild Gaza postwar”.

Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed this week that she will not preside over the address, leading to a rush in the Senate chamber over who will lead Congress in its reception of Mr Netanyahu.

The decision has further fanned the partisan flames on Capitol Hill over Israel.

Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik accused the Democratic Party of “turning their back on our most precious ally”.

And more members of Congress on Tuesday confirmed that they would not attend the address.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen told reporters he did not wish to be a “prop” for Mr Netanyahu, while progressive Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said she would give her tickets to families of Israeli hostages.

Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, meanwhile, issued a memo declaring that acts of protest from US politicians would result in their arrest, after saying he will increase security in the chamber for Mr Netanyahu's visit.

Anti-Netanyahu protests have been taking place in Washington throughout the week and turnout at the Capitol on Thursday is expected to be large.

Capitol police on Tuesday had already arrested dozens of Jewish-American protesters demonstrating in the halls of congressional buildings in anticipation of Mr Netanyahu's visit.

APN is co-sponsoring two different protests, and Mr Susskind plans on speaking at both to make it clear that “Americans, Jews and otherwise should say that he's not welcome here”.

“There's no good reason for Israel for Netanyahu to be here right now … They've got 120 people still held hostage,” he said.

“He's got work to do. He only has personal political reasons for being here … I would say he should go home and do his job.”

Mr Netanyahu will also be meeting top US officials during his visit.

President Joe Biden, who recently ended his race to retain the White House, will meet Mr Netanyahu after his address on Thursday for talks centred on Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

Mr Ross said that Mr Biden stepping down from the presidential race “frees him” to more directly focus on foreign policy and achieving a ceasefire deal.

“He'll be more focused on the issue of legacy,” he said.

Members of the House foreign affairs committee also confirmed they would be meeting Mr Netanyahu, after Israeli hostage families on Tuesday went to Congress and warned that politicians must put more pressure on him to clinch the ceasefire deal.

Daniel Neutra, brother of hostage Omer Neutra, told the committee that after a meeting this week with Mr Netanyahu: “I have to say, the urgency did not seem to resonate with him”.

“Any true friend of Israel today must pressure our Prime Minister to finish the deal now,” added Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen.

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, announced that he will host Mr Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Friday.