Israeli President Isaac Herzog addresses Congress on July 19, 2023. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

By Jacob Kornbluh July 19, 2023

Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont and progressive firebrand, joined a handful of left-wing Democrats who on Wednesday boycotted Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to a joint session of Congress. 

Sanders said in a statement that he skipped the speech because he’s strongly opposed to “the policies of Israel’s right wing, anti-Palestinian government” and that he believes Congress has “a right to demand” the Israelis “respect human rights.” 

Herzog holds a largely ceremonial post, and is the former leader of Israel’s Labor Party, which has historically represented the country’s liberal establishment and spearheaded the Oslo Accords. He has been working to blunt the sharpest edges of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul plan.

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In addition to Sanders, who is Jewish, seven Democratic House members — Ilhan Omar, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Raul Grijalva and Nydia Velazquez — boycotted the speech to send a similar message of rebuke.

In his address, Herzog called out Israel’s critics in Congress, saying the have engaged in antisemitic rhetoric regarding the Jewish state, including calling it an “apartheid” and “racist state.” 

“I respect criticism, especially from friends, although one does not always have to accept it,” Herzog said. “But criticism of Israel must not cross the line into negation of the State of Israel’s right to exist. Questioning the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, is not legitimate diplomacy, it is antisemitism.” 

In his remarks, Herzog also said that he is “wholeheartedly committed” to peace with the Palestinians based on “true peace, without any terror.”

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