Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Wednesday issued a full-throated defense of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, during an address to Congress that laid bare deep divisions in Washington over a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
The fact of Mr. Netanyahu’s speech was almost as notable as anything he said.
In the face of increasing international censure and dissent both in Israel and in the United States, Mr. Netanyahu was seeking to use Congress to lift his sagging political fortunes — and leaders in both parties obliged with a bipartisan invitation to receive him.
Vice President Kamala Harris declined to preside, as is traditional for the vice president, citing a scheduling conflict.
And Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan and the first Palestinian American member of Congress, held up a sign as Mr. Netanyahu spoke that read “war criminal” on one side and “guilty of genocide” on the other.
Persons:
Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “, ” Mr, Israel, —, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris, Rashida Tlaib
Organizations:
Israel, Democratic Party, Democratic, Palestinian
Locations:
Gaza, Washington, United States, Iran, Israel, Michigan, Palestinian American