Harris Will Boycott Netanyahu’s Speech in US Congress

Tel Aviv sources: vice president's stance is “disappointing”

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States and one of the Democratic Party’s most likely candidates for the November election, will not be in Congress on Wednesday, July 24, for the address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Harris has other, much more important events to attend. For example, the Indianapolis meeting of the African-American fraternity Zeta Phi Beta.

Zeta Phi Beta is a non-profit organization founded on January 16, 1920 at Howard University in Washington, DC. The Brotherhood was involved in political and social change in the USA, fighting for black’s and women’s rights. Among the fraternity’s commitments is “maintaining high academic standards of members.” This can’t help but appeal to Harris and certainly explains the decision to boycott Netanyahu’s speech in the midst of the war Israel must fight on two fronts: in Palestine and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

However, a presidential administration source quoted by the New York Times said the vice president would likely meet with Netanyahu “later” at the White House.

According to US media, Harris’s decision is absolutely contrary to strict US political rules, where “vice presidents who are also presidents of the Senate attend speeches by foreign leaders in Congress.” On Wednesday, next to House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, will be not Harris, but Maryland Senator Benjamin Cardin, president of the Foreign Relations Committee, known as one of the strongest supporters of Israel within the Democratic Party.

The absence of US Vice President Kamala Harris during Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is “disappointing.” This was stated by some members of the Israeli delegation, as quoted by the British newspaper The Telegraph. Harris’ decision to “boycott” Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday “at a time of a hard war against Iran and its terrorist collaborators is disappointing,” the source said. In less than a month, at the Democratic National Convention, Harris will be eligible to run as a candidate in the presidential election scheduled for November 5. According to Israel, “the free world cannot afford leaders incapable (such as Harris) of distinguishing between right and wrong.” The British newspaper is known for its critical stance toward the US vice president.