Following Ilhan Omar, More US Lawmakers to Boycott Israeli President’s Speech at Congress

Rep. Ilhan Omar had said there was “no way in hell” she would attend Herzog’s speech.

By United with Israel Staff and Andrew Bernard, The Algemeiner

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) on Thursday indicated he will be skipping Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s joint address to Congress on 19 July, citing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

“The Office of Congressman Jamaal Bowman can confirm that the Congressman will not be attending President Herzog’s address,” a Bowman spokesman said, Haaretz reported on Thursday.

“I don’t think Israel has gone far enough in protecting and uplifting Palestinian rights and Palestinian lives,” Bowman explained, according to the Epoch Times.

The offices of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush also confirmed they would not attend the speech, The Times of Israel reported.

The moves follow Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) announcement on Wednesday that there was “no way in hell” she would attend Herzog’s speech.

“We should not be inviting the President of Israel–a government who under its current prime minister barred the first two muslim women elected to congress from visiting the country–to give a joint address to Congress,” Omar tweeted in all-caps. Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) were denied permission to visit Israel in 2019 because of their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel.

Bowman, who is a member of the so-called Squad of Democrats, has been among the most vehement critics of Israel in Congress. In April, Bowman and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) organized a letter to President Biden calling for “a shift in US policy” toward Israel and demanding that US aid to Israel be made conditional, citing Israel’s alleged “human rights abuses.”

Rep. Bowman did not immediately reply to The Algemeiner’s request for comment about Herzog’s address.

Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) were denied permission to visit Israel in 2019 because of their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel.

Republicans on Wednesday condemned Omar for her decision to boycott Herzog.

“[Ilhan Omar] is an anti-Semite whose radical views pervade the extreme House Democratic Caucus. Either they denounce her or they agree with her,” the National Republican Congressional Committee tweeted.

Herzog was invited to address Congress by the House and Senate leadership of both parties to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Israel’s founding.

In February, Omar was stripped of her position on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in a party line vote by a resolution that cited cited her past anti-Israel statements and use of antisemitic tropes, including her insinuation that AIPAC was paying American politicians to support Israel when she tweeted in 2019 that “it’s all about the Benjamins baby,” using slang for $100 bills.

Less than an hour before that vote, Omar co-sponsored a resolution that described Israel as a “trusted partner and ally” and condemned antisemitism.

Representative Omar did not immediately reply to The Algemeiner’s request for comment on whether she believes Israel is a “trusted partner and ally” in light of her decision to Boycott President Herzog’s address.