Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), the retiring chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is set to preside over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday to a joint session of Congress, filling a role traditionally held by Vice President Kamala Harris, a Cardin spokesperson told Jewish Insider.

Harris, whose presidential bid was endorsed on Sunday by President Joe Biden after he announced he would not seek reelection, is set to be traveling on Wednesday, on what her office said was a prearranged trip to Indianapolis. She’ll be meeting with Netanyahu separately this week. 

Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA) would ordinarily be next in line after Harris to preside, but she declined to do so and won’t be attending the speech, a spokesperson told JI. Such a situation hasn’t happened in decades. 

Murray is also the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and her decision to skip the speech suggests a sizable boycott of Netanyahu’s address among Democrats. She was not among the lawmakers who skipped Netanyahu’s last address to Congress in 2015.

“Securing a lasting, mutual ceasefire is of the utmost importance right now, and I will continue to push for one to be reached as soon as possible,” Murray said in a statement, while expressing her support for Israel’s security. “I hope Prime Minister Netanyahu will use the opportunity to address how he plans to secure a ceasefire — and lasting peace in the region.”

A source familiar with the situation told JI that Cardin was the next option after Murray declined to preside.

Netanyahu will have some private meetings when he comes to the Capitol this week, including with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). It is not clear if he’ll be meeting individually with Democratic leaders.

Johnson said last week he would be increasing security inside the House chamber in anticipation of possible protests — which could come from disgruntled members seeking to disrupt the speech, from guests invited by anti-Israel lawmakers or from anti-Israel staffers, some of whom have joined protests on Capitol Hill since Oct. 7. Authorities began erecting riot fencing around the Capitol on Monday evening.

A coalition of groups that have been critical of Israel’s operations in Gaza are set to host an event inside a House office building to counter-program with the Netanyahu speech, with remarks from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Israeli and Palestinian anti-war activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, according to an invitation obtained by JI.

The groups hosting that event include the Center for American Progress, Center for International Policy, Middle East Democracy Center, Win Without War, Americans for Peace Now and Common Defense. Some of those groups have called for cutting off U.S. support for Israel.

Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) told JI they won’t be attending Netanyahu’s speech. Reps. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are also set to skip the speech.

Schakowsky said that Netanyahu is “among other things, bad for the state of Israel,” “wants to see the continuation of this war” and “doesn’t seem to care at all about the hostages.”

“I think that he’s a danger for the region, we’re seeing not just the huge numbers but women and children dying,” she said.

Schakowsky added that Netanyahu is “clever” and will use non-controversial issues such as fighting antisemitism — which she accused him of fueling — to win standing ovations from bipartisan members. “I am not about to participate in that.”

Garcia said that “this is not the right timing” for the speech while hostages remain in Gaza and before a cease-fire deal has been reached.

“His focus should be completely on the work that’s got to be done in Israel and Gaza,” Garcia, who was the beneficiary of support from AIPAC’s United Democracy Project in his 2022 primary race, said.

Beyer said he wants to read Netanyahu’s remarks “but I don’t want to elevate his presence.”

Several members, including Reps. Clyburn, Jim McGovern (D-MA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Mark Takano (D-CA), many of whom have been critical of Israel’s operations in Gaza, invited members to attend an event with hostage families on Wednesday morning, ahead of the speech, according to an invitation shared with JI.

The invitation described it as a “pro-Israel event … intended to provide an opportunity for all Members to demonstrate their solidarity with the people of Israel and to hear from Israelis about how these catastrophic events and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s right-wing policies and indifference to the fate of the hostages have affected their lives,” for members “whether you plan to attend Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech or not.”

Raskin declined to comment on whether he’d be attending the speech, saying he’d be issuing a statement on Tuesday.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said he was attending the Clyburn event instead of the Netanyahu speech, though the two don’t overlap.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he’d be skipping the speech but that he does the same with all joint session speeches.

Reps. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Steven Horsford (D-NV), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, told JI they are going to Netanyahu’s speech. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), who didn’t attend Netanyahu’s last speech to Congress in 2015, will be attending this time, JI has learned.

“It’s a show of respect to the country,” Jackson, who has been critical of Israel’s operations in Gaza, said. “Although I have serious misgivings about the leadership of Mr. Netanyahu, I do support Israel and so I think I have an obligation as a member of Congress to hear the head of state of Israel.”

Hoyer, who had warned that the speech might not be helpful for support of Israel, said it’s up to members to decide whether to attend, but “I’m going to be there. He’s the prime minister of a country, the prime minister of Israel, a country I’m very close to and I support very strongly.”

A host of protests are planned for outside the Capitol Building during the speech, including by anti-Israel demonstrators, Jewish groups critical of the war and Jewish groups critical of Netanyahu.

UnXeptable, the grassroots Israeli-American anti-Netanyahu group initially formed to protest Israel’s judicial reform efforts, is leading one of the protests set to overlap with the speech.

Offir Gutelzon, the co-founder of UnXeptable, told JI that the group is aiming to send the message “that Netanyahu is not really representing the people of Israel … He is coming here to do what he does the best, to divide and conquer.”

He said that UnXeptable isn’t recommending that lawmakers boycott the speech, but will tell them that “the most pro-Israeli thing to do is to protest against Netanyahu — the way they choose to protest is up to them” and that Netanyahu is delivering different messages to U.S. and Israeli audiences. Gutelzon said Netanyahu shouldn’t address Congress before signing a hostage deal.

The Union for Reform Judaism will be joining the UnXeptable demonstration.

URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs said that he’s “quite concerned that the message [from Netanyahu] could further weaken the already weakened bipartisan support for Israel,” adding that he wants to hear Netanyahu express gratitude to the administration for the aid it has provided to Israel.

Jacobs said he’ll leave it to members to make their own decisions on whether to attend the speech.

“I think it’s very important for Democrats to make sure that their voice and their presence is a pro-Israel voice and presence,” Jacobs said. “I’m imagining there will be plenty of Democrats in the room and hopefully the prime minister will give them reason to not only clap, but stand … I think all the Democrats that will be in the chamber will have a hard time applauding enthusiastically, but a lot of that depends on the prime minister.”

He said he expects a few lawmakers to join the UnXeptable protest but emphasized, “they’re not against Israel, these are Israeli patriots saying that if you can’t be inside, at least come to our protest, which is a very loud, very clear pro-Israel protest.”

Gutelzon said he’s coordinating with police, who are seeking to keep the various groups of protesters separate to keep them safe, noting that his group will be carrying Israeli flags. He said that the family members of two hostages will be attending the rally.

He said that there’s “a risk” that the group’s message will be co-opted by anti-Israel forces, “but the risk is much higher if Israel becomes a messianic theocracy. Then we are basically leaving the field just for the extremists.”

Jacobs told JI “you’ve got to be crazy not to be concerned” about violence by pro-Hamas protesters during the event and that it’s “clear” that the situation outside the Capitol will be chaotic.

“We are trying very hard, and the greater pro-Israel community is trying very hard, to make sure that the loudest voices are the voices of love and support for the State of Israel,” Jacobs said.