Democrats Mark Pocan, Gwen Moore to skip Netanyahu address to Congress

WASHINGTON – Wisconsin's two House Democrats will not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address Wednesday to a joint session of Congress — decisions that come largely out of protest over Israel's war in Gaza.

Neither Madison Rep. Mark Pocan nor Milwaukee Rep. Gwen Moore will be present for the speech, aides to both members told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Pocan’s office said the congressman felt it was “inappropriate to give the distinct honor of addressing Congress to a man who is waging an unjust war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

And Moore in a statement said she stands with the people of Israel but contended Netanyahu has dismissed President Joe Biden’s efforts to help civilians in Gaza and work toward a ceasefire.

“The Prime Minister’s speech will not bring us any closer to achieving those goals given his record of publicly snubbing President Biden’s efforts to advance peace,” Moore said, adding that the Israeli leader has failed “to reign in the extremists in his coalition” and rejected a two-state solution.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, meanwhile, plans to attend the address, according to a spokesman.

Netanyahu’s address arrives as the U.S.’s own presidential politics are in flux — just days after Biden announced he would not seek reelection — and as the country is divided over the war between Israel and Hamas following the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The number of Palestinian civilians killed in Israel's response to the terror attack continues to grow, nearing 40,000, according to Hamas-run Gazan health authorities.

Pocan has been among Congress’ most outspoken critics of Israel’s response in Gaza, calling Israel’s retaliation against Hamas a “collective punishment against all Palestinians.”

He’s opposed sending additional offensive weapons to Israel and for months has been in an open conflict on social media with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington that he accused of being anti-democratic.

When the International Criminal Court earlier this year recommended arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas officials, Pocan said he “would be more than glad to show the ICC the way to the House floor to issue that warrant” for Netanyahu should he come to address Congress.

“Ditto for Hamas leader,” he wrote on X at the time. “Ceasefire. No offensive weapons. Food, water & medicine must get through.”

On Wednesday, Pocan said he regretted a warrant was not issued, "as I would have gladly served it to him on the House floor."

A spokesman for Pocan said the congressman planned to give his ticket for the address to Maya Roman, the cousin of Yarden Roman-Ga, who was kidnapped by Hamas and held for 54 days before being released.

Maya Roman, Pocan’s office said, is the founder of the Israeli feminist news source “Politically Correct” and has been involved in efforts to return Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Moore, for her part, has kept a lower profile on the war. She has called for a ceasefire and has been critical of Netanyahu’s government while still maintaining her support for Israel. In April, she voted in favor of a bill that would send more military aid to Israel.

Asked about her plans to skip Netanyahu’s address, Moore noted her calls for a ceasefire and said she supports providing more humanitarian aid to Gaza and “setting up a path to end violence long term and work toward a two-state solution.”

“What Israel and the Palestinians need is a new direction in this conflict,” she said, “not another speech in the well of the House.”

Baldwin, in a tight reelection race for her Senate seat this year, said she planned to attend Netanyahu’s address.

The Madison Democrat and her colleagues have faced pressure from some on the left over the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza. Baldwin has expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself while also being, at times, critical of the country’s response, calling for a ceasefire agreement in a push to get humanitarian assistance to civilians and secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas.

She joined Senate colleagues earlier this year in calling on Biden to outline a path to “recognize a nonmilitarized Palestinian state.”

In a statement Wednesday, Baldwin said she expects to hear from Netanyahu "exactly how Israel plans to end this war, bring the hostages home, surge aid into Gaza, and take steps toward a two-state solution."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mark Pocan, Gwen Moore to skip Netanyahu address to Congress