An anonymous letter supported by 230 staffers in the House of Representatives and the Senate is urging lawmakers to boycott a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to address Congress later this month as Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza rages on.
The letter, organized by members of the Congressional Progressive Staff Association and endorsed by staffers representing the offices of 122 Democratic and Republican lawmakers, describes the demand for a boycott of Netanyahu’s speech as an “issue of morality” that transcends politics, and notes that “citizens, students, and lawmakers across the country and the world have spoken out against the actions of Mr. Netanyahu,” including Israeli citizens.
Several staffers (and some lawmakers) plan to skip the speech in protest of Israel’s relentless bombing and starvation campaign in Gaza. In their letter, the staffers urge their bosses to do the same.
“We hope you will join your fellow Members of Congress in protest at his speech or in refusing to attend it,” the staffers wrote.
Netanyahu’s speech is scheduled to happen on July 24. He was initially invited by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who consulted the White House about the invitation.
Some Democratic lawmakers believe the invite was politically motivated, as Republicans began discussing the idea of having Netanyahu speak only after Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York), himself a Jewish lawmaker, criticized the Israeli prime minister in a speech on the Senate floor.
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers, including a large contingent of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, are expected to boycott Netanyahu’s speech. The chair of that caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), told The Associated Press last month that it was a “bad idea” to invite him to speak.
“We should be putting pressure on him” to abide by demands from President Joe Biden “by withholding offensive military assistance,” Jayapal said.
Some progressive senators, including Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) have also announced that they will be skipping the event in protest of Netanyahu’s actions as prime minister since last fall.
Since October 7, Israeli forces have massacred over 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza — including more than 15,000 children, per the latest figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Public health researchers have noted that the true death toll is likely far higher, with some estimating that Israel’s U.S.- backed genocide has killed at least 186,000 Palestinians so far.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We’re presently working to find 1500 new monthly donors to Truthout before the end of the year.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy