“[He] shouldn’t come to Congress, he should be sent to the Hague. He has no business coming to the United States of America.”
That’s how U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in the U.S. Congress, responded when asked her opinion of the move to invite war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, to address a joint session of Congress.
The Hague is the site of the International Criminal Court. Earlier this year, that court’s chief prosecutor applied for an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for the gross violations of international law carried out by Israeli forces in Gaza. The ICC prosecutor is calling for Netanyahu to be arrested for crimes against humanity such as intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, including willfully impeding relief supplies; for depriving civilians not only of food, but also water, fuel, and medicine; for willfully causing great suffering; and for the crime of murder, intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population.
Callously ignoring the genocide in Gaza, the top leaders of the Democratic Party in Congress joined the move by Congressional Republicans to bring Netanyahu to Congress. When Netanyahu speaks on July 24, it will be the fourth time that he has addressed the U.S. Congress – the highest number of formal addresses to the U.S. Congress ever given by a foreign leader.
The invitation to Netanyahu has sparked outrage.
Peace groups have mounted a campaign urging voters to contact their Congressional representatives and demand that they boycott the Netanyahu speech.
U.S. Senate Bernie Sanders (I.-Vt.) called Netanyahu a “war criminal” and announced that he would boycott the Israeli leader’s speech. Several dozen members of the House of Representatives have also pledged that they will not attend.
Plans are underway for a massive demonstration in Washington on the day that Netanyahu speaks and for possible civil disobedience.
The Riverside Church in New York City issued a statement “calling on faith leaders from all traditions to stand together and condemn Netanyahu’s leadership.” The church announced plans for a mass interfaith protest in Washington, D.C. on July 24.
The peace group Code Pink denounced the invitation to Netanyahu, declaring:
“Netanyahu should be arrested upon entry in the U.S. in compliance with the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants, not welcomed with open arms. We must demand Congress boycott this genocide pep-rally and take every measure to bring Netanyahu to justice!”
We urge all our readers to support this call: Don’t welcome Netanyahu when he arrives in the United States – arrest him! Contact your Representative and Senator in protest at https://www.congress.gov/contact-us
