Fault lines open among Jewish leaders ahead of Netanyahu’s speech
Some suggest that the visit could set back U.S.-Israel relations

Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of his flight to Washington, July 22nd, 2024
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets set to address a joint session of Congress later today, American Jewish leaders are voicing divergent views on what they want to hear at this delicate moment in U.S.-Israel relations, with some even suggesting that the visit could actually set back those relations.
“While unfortunately there are some folks inside and outside of Congress at the fringes who have tried to make support for Israel a more and more controversial issue, that’s not where the majority of Congress is as we’ve seen in votes on legislation and resolutions, and so it’s very important that the prime minister strengthen the bipartisan consensus and support of Israel in his speech and meetings,” Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, told Jewish Insider on Monday.
Diament emphasized the importance of Netanyahu speaking “to the issues around Israel and its war with Hamas and Iran in ways that garner ongoing support from Republicans and Democrats so that support for Israel can remain strong.”
He also noted that the dramatic turn of events in U.S. politics — President Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he would not seek reelection and the rapid ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris as the potential nominee — could make the visit, which is Netanyahu’s fourth time addressing Congress, more significant than ever. Diament added that it’s “an interesting moment of opportunity for Netanyahu coming to Washington and meeting with Biden,” who is “now freed from worrying about reelection and he’s going to be all the more focused on legacy.”
But other Jewish leaders see the Netanyahu visit in itself as controversial regardless of what is said in the speech or in meetings with Biden and Harris. David Halperin, CEO of Israel Policy Forum, said Netanyahu’s trip to Washington “is not about policy, only politics.”
“For years, those who care about U.S.-Israel relations warned against politicizing it,” Halperin told JI. “This week, an especially weak and polarizing Israeli leader will visit Washington at the end of the Knesset session, thereby avoiding any potential collapse of his government and sidestepping major critical decisions that need to be made back home regarding Israeli hostages and Israel’s security.”
Halperin condemned Netanyahu for “inserting himself into the American political discourse at an especially intense moment in the presidential campaign in which he is widely viewed as favoring the Republican candidate over the Democratic one.” (Netanyahu was criticized the last time he addressed a joint session of Congress, in 2015, to lobby against then-President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran; Democrats said that the invitation extended by then-House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, was inappropriate, forcing them to choose between their president and their support for Israel.)
“American Jewish leaders should ask how this visit in any way helps achieve the purported goal of strengthening U.S.-Israel ties, when it appears engineered to do the opposite,” he said.
The Progressive Israel Network, a coalition of 12 American Jewish organizations, said in a statement that “Israel’s sitting Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is not welcome here.”
“Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace,” continued the statement, signed by eight out of the 12 groups: Ameinu, Americans for Peace Now, Habonim Dror North America, J Street, New Israel Fund, New York Jewish Agenda, Partners for Progressive Israel and T’ruah.
A majority of American Jewish leaders expressed that they welcome Netanyahu — but are doing so cautiously.
Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, told JI that she wants to “hear progress on getting the remaining hostages home safely and quickly.”
She also stressed the need for a “day after” plan regarding the governance of Gaza. “Ultimately, it’s critical to plan for a day when this war will end and we can build a future in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and safety,” Spitalnick said.
The Rabbinical Assembly, the association of Conservative rabbis, called for Netanyahu to “reinforce the deep, historical ties between Israel and the U.S.”
The assembly said in a statement that the Washington visit is “also a moment to express gratitude for the bipartisan support that Israel has received before and after Oct. 7 in fighting an enemy that seeks to destroy the Jewish state.” The group said it “stands firmly with Israel as it works to free the remaining hostages, defeat Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s terror capabilities, allow displaced Israelis to return to their homes, and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza.”
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest denomination of American Jewry, said he wants Netanyahu to “ensure that Israel’s existence and security is never allowed to become a partisan wedge issue within U.S. politics.
“If he instead inflames partisan divides, he will make Israel, and the Jewish people, less safe in the coming years,” Jacobs said in a statement. He echoed calls for the release of hostages and said he wants “to hear [Netanyahu] affirm the importance of Israel continuing to do more to prevent the loss of innocent life in Gaza and ensure that humanitarian aid gets to innocent Gazans who desperately need it.” Jacobs was one of the few Jewish leaders outside of the Progressive Israel Network to call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, a deal that Netanyahu is unlikely to agree to.
Jacobs said, “I yearn to hear [Netanyahu’s] commitment to a new, negotiated cease-fire as the most effective way for those still held to be freed.”
Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, told JI that she hopes Netanyahu will use his address to reaffirm his support for Biden’s negotiated hostage deal to release the remaining 120 hostages. (The first stage of the deal would happen during a 42-day cease-fire and would include the release of 32 hostages, but not necessarily living ones. Later stages would include Israel releasing living Palestinian terrorists from prison and eventually the release of Israeli soldiers, male hostages and an end to the war.)
“In the midst of wartime, traveling to the United States is a significant decision, and I sincerely hope Prime Minister Netanyahu will use his address to reaffirm his support for President Biden’s negotiated deal,” Katz said.
Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, now nearing its 10th month, is likely to be a focus of Netanyahu’s meetings with Biden and Harris. “Obviously, successfully ending the war is on the front burner,” Diament said, also making note of other issues that were a focus both before and since Oct. 7. He cited “efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia and also more broadly about what goes on in the region for Israel, its security and its relationship with the U.S. going forward” are now in a sharper focus “because [Netanyahu] can have a conversation with President Biden about his last five or so months and how to most productively use that time to secure Israel going forward.”
William Daroff and Harriet Schleifer, heads of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, welcomed Netanyahu to the U.S. in a joint statement. “We look forward to hearing the prime minister’s remarks this Wednesday and hope that his meetings with President Biden and Vice President Harris are fruitful in progressing Israel’s war aims, hostage negotiations and the fight against global antisemitism,” the CoP statement said.
UnXeptable, a grassroots movement launched by Israeli expats, has announced plans to protest outside of Netanyahu’s speech. “UnXeptable stands in solidarity with the protesters in Israel, taking to the streets daily, calling for an immediate hostage deal and democratic leadership in Israel,” the group said in a statement. The protest is co-sponsored by several Jewish groups including URJ, ARZA (the Reform Movement’s Zionist organization), Americans for Peace Now, Ameinu, T’ruah and NYC4Kaplan. Speakers are expected to include at least two Israelis whose family members are in Hamas captivity: Zehiro Shahar Mor, the nephew of Avraham Munder, and Yifat Kalderon, the cousin of Ofer Kalderon.
The expected meeting between Netanyahu and Harris, who will be traveling and will not preside over Netanyanu’s speech to Congress, will also be notable, Diament said. He called it an “opportunity for her to be seen in a global leadership role, even if it’s just a photo-op.”
“So that’s something that will bring the two stories together, so to speak,” Diament said, referring to the Netanyahu visit and the presidential election.