GOP goes on offense against Democrats on Israel

Republicans are looking to capitalize on heightening tensions between Democrats and the Israeli government, which spilled into the public view after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) denounced longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called for new elections in the country.

Senate Republicans hosted Netanyahu for a virtual address during their weekly lunch on Wednesday — days after Schumer’s striking floor speech — an unusual gathering of a foreign leader with lawmakers from just one party. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Netanyahu called Schumer’s remarks “wholly inappropriate” during the huddle.

Schumer, meanwhile, declined a request from Netanyahu to meet with Senate Democrats, intensifying the feud between the Democratic leader and the Israeli prime minister. A Schumer spokesperson said the senator “made it clear that he does not think these discussions should happen in a partisan manner.”

The tit for tat spilled into the House on Wednesday when Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he was considering inviting Netanyahu to address lawmakers on Capitol Hill, which could take the form of a joint address to Congress. House Republicans discussed the possibility during their weekly closed-door meeting that morning, according to a source familiar with the matter, as part of a conversation about “a range of options that are predicated on Schumer’s remarks last week.”

The remarkable series of events reflect the changing dynamics surrounding Israel on Capitol Hill, where Democrats are growing increasingly fractured on the matter amid mounting deaths in Gaza, and Republicans are quick to highlight those divisions.

“You’ve seen this leadership team stand strongly with our friends in Israel in their right to defend themselves, and we will not waver regardless of what Chuck Schumer or Joe Biden continue to do,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Wednesday.

Schumer — the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history — sent shock waves throughout Washington and Jerusalem last week when he delivered a high-profile speech on the Senate floor and denounced Netanyahu as having “lost his way,” claimed that “the Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7,” and, subsequently, called for a new election in the country.

The remarks prompted immediate criticism from Republicans in both chambers, who blasted the comments as anti-Israel, unprecedented and wrong. But they were also welcomed by some progressive lawmakers, who have not shied away from condemning the Netanyahu government and consistently sound the alarm about the soaring number of civilian deaths at the hands of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) called Schumer’s speech “important,” while former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) billed it as “an act of courage” and “an act of love for Israel.”

The reaction is a microcosm of the shifting attitudes toward Israel on Capitol Hill, where support for the U.S. ally — a policy once embraced on both sides of the aisle — has become a politically charged matter that pits Democrats against Republicans and, simultaneously, Democrats against Democrats.

The tensions between liberal Democrats and the conservative Netanyahu are nothing new. Many Democrats boycotted his 2015 speech to a joint session of Congress, where Netanyahu used the platform to bash then-President Obama over a budding Iran nuclear deal. 

But the frictions have become much more pronounced following Hamas’s terrorist attack of Oct. 7, which left more than 1,200 dead, and Israel’s response to the assault, which has killed more than 30,000 people in the Gaza Strip.

Democrats, including Schumer, have sought to carve a distinction between Israel’s right to self-defense, which they broadly support, and Netanyahu’s handling of the war, which they say does too little to prevent civilian casualties.

Yet Republicans have used any criticism of Netanyahu to paint Democrats as anti-Israel, a message promoted by former President Trump — who this week said any Jewish individual who votes for Democrats “hates their religion” — and one that GOP congressional leaders are also hoping to exploit.

“I made it clear to him that it’s not the business of the United States to be giving a Democratic ally advice over when to have an election or what kind of military campaign they may be conducting,” Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said Wednesday.

“We obviously have a lot in common, but it seems to me the bipartisan support for Israel seems to be cracking on the political left in this country,” he added.

Democrats have rejected those charges, accusing Republicans of politicizing Israel solely for the purpose of attacking Democrats. 

“Leadership, no matter whether it’s Republican or Democrat, must remain committed to the fact that this is a bipartisan issue,” said Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), a Jewish lawmaker. “To use it for any political gain is not at all in our national security interests. It’s certainly not in the interest of Israel or stability and peace in the Middle East.”

The highly charged discourse is sure to spread from Capitol Hill to the campaign trail, as Trump hammers Democrats for their criticism of Israel and Biden embraces some progressive positions amid the war in the Middle East, including a call for a six-week pause in fighting to allow the release of hostages and to move more aid into Gaza.

Democrats were quick to pounce on Trump’s comments Wednesday.

“The comments are divisive and so reprehensible,” Landsman said. “As a Jew it’s frustrating because he and others are taking this issue, my identity, and using it to their political advantage. It’s disgusting.”

Schumer called Trump’s comments “utterly disgusting and a textbook example of the kind of antisemitism facing Jews, pushing the dangerous antisemitic trope of dual loyalty.”

Netanyahu spoke with Senate Republicans for roughly 45 minutes during their weekly lunch on Wednesday, a gathering that came to fruition after the Israeli leader called McConnell last week and asked if he could speak with the conference.

The conversation focused in part on the widely expected Israeli invasion of Rafah, a city located in southern Gaza. Netanyahu told senators “they are going to undertake it,” according to Hawley.

The discussion also touched on Schumer’s radioactive remarks. Hawley said the comments were brought up during a question-and-answer session, and that Netanyahu was “very direct.”

“He said that he thought that Schumer’s remarks were wholly inappropriate, and then he said, you know, if you want me to be more frank, ‘I thought they were outrageous,’” Hawley said. “And he said Israel would never, never purport to tell the United States how to run our elections, who to elect, and no sovereign state would brook that kind of interference, and he thought it was totally inappropriate.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said Netanyahu made it clear that “he would not be dictated to, by Senator Schumer or President Biden.”

Johnson, meanwhile, leaned into the Israel debate on Wednesday, revealing to reporters that he spoke with Netanyahu that morning and “reiterated to him the House Republicans’ strong support for Israel and their efforts there” and expressed his “strong disagreement” with Schumer’s comments.

“We think it is not only foolhardy, it’s dangerous for him to be trying to suggest how Israel should run its domestic affairs in the midst of their conflict,” he continued. “So you’ll see the House Republicans continue to stand forward and reiterate our support for Israel at this very critical time.”

He took it a step further minutes later when he told reporters he was considering inviting the controversial Israeli leader to address Congress, arguing, “It’s very important for us to show solidarity and support with Israel right now in their time of great struggle.”

Democrats, however, see the potential invitation as an attempt to politicize the U.S.’s changing relationship with Israel, slamming Republicans for trying to score a political win on the long-standing relationship between the U.S. and its closest ally in the Middle East.

“It’s a shame that we would play politics with that relationship when the focus should be ending the war,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said.

Al Weaver and Filip Timotija contributed.