When Israeli President Isaac Herzog addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, there will be some notable absences. At least five progressive U.S. lawmakers, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush, confirmed that they will be skipping Herzog’s speech in protest of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians in the occupied territories, which some Democrats recently described as “racist” and akin to apartheid.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 We are proud to be the United States' closest partner and friend.
00:04 We are grateful to the United States for the necessary means you have provided us to keep our qualitative military edge
00:13 and to enable us to defend ourselves by ourselves.
00:17 This reflects your ongoing commitment to Israel's security.
00:23 We are also tremendously proud that ours is a two-way alliance in which Israel has been making critical contributions
00:32 to the national security interests of the United States of America in numerous ways.
00:38 Thank you, dear members of Congress, for your support of Israel throughout history and at this critical moment in time.
00:47 Mr. Speaker, perhaps the greatest challenge Israel and the United States face at this time together is the Iranian nuclear program.
00:57 Let there be no doubt, Iran does not strive to attain nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
01:05 Iran has spread hatred, terror and suffering throughout the Middle East and beyond,
01:11 adding fuel to the disastrous fire and suffering in Ukraine.
01:16 Iran is the only nation on the planet publicly calling, plotting and developing means to annihilate another nation
01:26 and members of the family of nations, the State of Israel.
01:31 Allowing Iran to become a nuclear threshold state, whether by omission or by diplomatic commission, is unacceptable.
01:41 Many of the challenges Israel and the United States face are similar.
01:46 We are all experiencing a tumultuous shift in balance evident in countless areas.
01:53 Geopolitical unrest, big power competition, catastrophic war in Ukraine, pandemics, climate crisis,
02:03 the unknown of artificial intelligence, energy shortages, food insecurity, scarcity of water and desertification,
02:14 global terror, social polarization and the attempts to destabilize democracy.
02:21 Each of these challenges present an opportunity to seek out solutions together, which will benefit the global community.
02:30 Israel has the ability to contribute in a unique, significant fashion to addressing these challenges.
02:38 Israel and the United States are world leaders in aiding countries whose peoples have suffered.
02:44 Our collaborative capabilities, coupled with our mutual beneficial partnership, are the key to the future of our children.
02:53 To us it is clear that America is irreplaceable to Israel and Israel is irreplaceable to America.
03:01 I'm not oblivious to criticism among friends, including some expressed by respected members of this house.
03:10 I respect criticism, especially from friends, although one does not always have to accept it.
03:18 But criticism of Israel must not cross the line into negation of the state of Israel's right to exist.
03:27 (audience applauding)
03:30 (audience applauding)