These Massachusetts legislators are boycotting Netanyahnu’s speech to Congress

The Israeli prime minister is slated to address a Congress deeply divided over his leadership on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington this week amid deepening tensions between the two ally nation’s leadership teams, and during a period of political flux in the United States.

At the heart of the visit is Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, and several dozen legislators — including some from Massachusetts — say they will not attend.

The visit is his first since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and comes as the toll of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza nears 40,000, the AP reports. There have also been new deaths reported among surviving hostages, who are known to include Israelis, Americans and other nationalities held by Hamas and other militants since the war began.

The Israel-Hamas war has intensely divided the United States, spurring student protests, leading to arrests on college campuses, including in Boston, and alienating voters on both sides of the issue.

The AP reports that Biden and Netanyahu are expected to meet on Thursday. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Senate president, will also not attend the speech due to prior commitments. Former president Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP nominee, also plans to visit with Netanyahu on Friday.

Response of Massachusetts delegation:

Prominent Massachusetts members, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Jim McGovern, and Rep. Lori Trahan, are boycotting the speech.

“After nearly 300 days, Netanyahu has failed to bring the hostages home and he has created a humanitarian catastrophe — this war must end,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a statement on why she is not attending.

Warren said that Netanyahu’s government has prevented lifesaving aid from entering Gaza, starving Palestinians.

“We need an immediate ceasefire, the return of all the hostages, and massive amounts of humanitarian aid — and we need to give both sides a hard shove toward the negotiating table to work out a two-state solution for a lasting peace,” she continued.

“He and his extremist war cabinet have failed to bring home the hostages and created an humanitarian catastrophe that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians,” Sen. Markey said in a statement.

Instead of attending the speech, Markey met with Maya Roman, who he previously helped bring her cousin Yarden home after she was kidnapped by Hamas.

“The United States should continue to push Israelis, Palestinians, and regional partners to achieve a diplomatic solution to the war,” Markey said in a statement.

Rep. Pressley instead delivered a floor speech Wednesday morning to share the story of a Palestinian family impacted by the war, and said she will renew her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and will meet with Israeli hostages’ families.

“The United States Congress is a sacred institution, and when we convene a joint session of Congress the world pays attention,” Pressley said in a statement. “We should never give this platform to a war criminal.”

“Instead of platforming Prime Minister Netanyahu and continuing to send bombs that kill innocent civilians, the United States Congress should use its full leverage to hold the Netanyahu government accountable for disregarding U.S. and international law and operating with callous disregard for human life,” she continued.

Pressley is calling for the U.S. to stop sending weapons to the Israeli military and urges diplomatic channels to push for a lasting ceasefire to save lives, return the hostages, and surge humanitarian aid to the region.

Rep. McGovern also stated he would not be attending the speech. “Instead, I will meet with Israeli and Palestinian peace leaders and join the families of the hostages to call for their release,” he said in a statement.

Rep. Seth Moulton does plan on attending today’s speech, according to a spokesperson. Despite not agreeing with Netanyahu’s policies, Moulton said he will attend the speech to hear what the Israeli leader has to say.

Rep. Jake Auchincloss will also attend the speech, bringing Newton’s Rabbi Michelle Robinson as his guest. Rabbi Robinson serves as a senior rabbi at Temple Emanuel of Newton, the largest conservative synagogue in New England, with a membership of over 1,500 families.

“The US-Israel relationship is forged from an enduring commitment to freedom, democracy and the cultivation of love and labor from generations of the Jewish people,” said Auchincloss in a statement. “The Temple Emanuel community and leadership are vital to the legacy and education of this alliance to younger generations of Americans in Massachusetts.”

After attending a meeting with families of the hostages still being held captive by Hamas on Wednesday, Rep. Lori Trahan said she had lost faith in Netanyahu’s willingness to prioritize the safe return of their loved ones.

“Time after time, he has obstructed and denied ceasefire agreements that would secure the release of the hostages, including innocent Americans still in captivity,” Trahan said in a statement. “Rather than seeking standing ovations in the Capitol and plotting his trip to Mar-a-Lago, Prime Minister Netanyahu should use his time in the United States to finalize the proposed ceasefire agreement that will finally bring the hostages home.”

Other state representatives did not return a request for comment Wednesday.

Reporting from the Associated Press was also used in this story.