Maryland senators diverge on Netanyahu speech to Congress

Maryland Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen usually see eye-to-eye and frequently work in tandem. But they have diverged when it comes to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled speech to Congress Wednesday.

Cardin, in his role as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will preside over the joint session of Congress alongside U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Van Hollen, in a fiery Senate floor speech Tuesday that condemned Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza under Netanyahu, said he planned to boycott Wednesday’s proceedings.

In his speech, Van Hollen laid out strenuous objections to Netanyahu’s “alt-right” political views.

Van Hollen is not the only one skipping the speech. Politico reported that close to 30 Senate and House Democrats had reported plans as of Tuesday afternoon to skip the speech. Members of Maryland’s U.S. House delegation who responded to queries from Maryland Matters also appeared split Tuesday evening on whether they would attend or not.

Netanyahu was invited several weeks ago by Johnson and House Republicans, in a move that, among other things, will highlight GOP support for Netanyahu and Democrats’ internal divisions over Israel and the Gaza war.

It is those very divisions, in fact, that will find Cardin in the temporary role as the Senate’s presiding officer Wednesday. Ordinarily, the vice president, as president of the Senate, would sit on the dais during a foreign dignitary’s speech.

But Vice President Kamala Harris, newly minted as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has a longstanding commitment to be campaigning in Indiana Wednesday — though she does plan to meet with Netanyahu later in the week, while he’s still in Washington, D.C., as does President Joe Biden.

Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) would normally preside in Harris’ stead, but Murray is among the Democratic lawmakers who have chosen to boycott Netanyahu’s congressional appearance.

Nine months after Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Israel’s sustained pounding of Gaza in response, Cardin has said he hopes Netanyahu uses the speech to to lay out a vision for peace between Israel and Palestine.

But Van Hollen said Tuesday he did not think it was right to host Netanyahu who, he said, represented an “alt-right Israeli government” that was opposed to a “two-state solution” with the Palestinians. The senator asserted that Netanyahu has not prioritized the safe return of hostages held by Hamas or shown adequate concern for the families of Israeli victims of the Oct. 7 attacks.

Van Hollen said in his speech that he was not interested in validating the “alt-right” and “extremist” prime minister by attending his congressional address. He said that the prime minister should care for his own constituency before coming to America to appeal to Congress for more financial and political support.

Van Hollen reiterated, however, that Israel had a right to defend itself from Hamas and that it has the right to neutralize any threat from the organization.

The senators’ divergent approach to the current politics of the Middle East reflects to a degree their political pedigrees and priorities.

Cardin, 80, is Jewish and has long been a vocal supporter of Israel — as are many residents of the heavily Jewish precincts of Baltimore City and Baltimore County where he came of age politically. He is one of nine Jews currently serving in the U.S. Senate.

But Cardin has not been hesitant to criticize the Netanyahu government when he feels it is appropriate, and he has regularly called for more humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

Van Hollen, 65, is the son of diplomats who spent part of his childhood overseas and worked for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before launching his own political career in Montgomery County. He has amped up his criticism of Netanyahu in recent months and called for an immediate ceasefire, attracting criticism from some U.S. Jewish leaders.

Maryland Matters reached out to all eight members of the state’s House delegation Tuesday afternoon to ask if they planned to attend the Netanyahu speech. Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) and David Trone (D-6th) will be in attendance, their offices said, while Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-7th) said he would skip the event.

Spokespeople for Reps. Andy Harris (R-1st), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-2nd), John Sarbanes (D-3rd), Glenn Ivey (D-4th) and Jamie Raskin (D-8th) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Israel-Gaza conflict has vexed the Biden administration: The president has been a strong ally of Israel through his long political career, but has faced mounting criticism from both the left and the right as the war has dragged on. Biden has been increasingly critical of Netanyahu in recent months, which has angered pro-Israel Republicans. But his criticisms have not been enough to satisfy progressive Democrats, who are largely sympathetic to the Palestinian war victims.

In addition to addressing Congress and meeting with Biden and Harris this week, Netanyahu is traveling to former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida Friday for a conversation.

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Trump’s vice presidential running mate, will also miss the prime minister’s speech so he can continue campaigning Wednesday. The Trump campaign told Jewish Insider Tuesday that Vance “stands steadfastly with the people of Israel in their fight to defend their homeland, eradicate terrorist threats, and bring back their countrymen held hostage.”