Netanyahu makes controversial address

What happened

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a rare address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday amid ongoing protests over Israel's war in Gaza.

Who said what

Netanyahu lauded the U.S.-Israeli relationship while lambasting the large demonstrations across Washington, D.C. over his presence. "For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now, outside this building," Netanyahu said. He earned his "biggest cheers" for calling protesters "Tehran's useful idiots," The New York Times said. 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who is Palestinian American, attended Netanyahu's speech, holding a sign reading "war criminal" and "guilty of genocide." Many other high-profile Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), were not in attendance, with "around half" of each of the Democratic caucuses "absent," said Andrew Solender at Axios. 

Heading into his speech, Netanyahu had to contend with a "new balancing act, appealing to the new, potentially more progressive face of the Democratic Party while not antagonizing Trump," The Wall Street Journal said. 

What next?

Despite skipping his address on Wednesday, Harris is scheduled to join President Joe Biden for a bilateral meeting with Netanyahu today. Netanyahu will then meet Donald Trump on Friday. Their once-glowing relationship has "grown tense in recent years following the 2020 election," Politico said. 

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