Many Democrats chose to boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen spoked to Midday earlier this week about his decision to skip the address. Van Hollen gave a forceful floor speech on Tuesday where he outlined his opposition to Netanyahu and his policies regarding Palestine.
Opposition was just as strong on the street outside the U.S. Capitol building. Large protests at Union Station in Washington on Wednesday included the burning of Israeli and American flags.
![Protestors rallied against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he prepared to speak to Congress,](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c229b08/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024x4032+0+0/resize/880x1173!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1d%2F31%2F6d7ada5e403dacdde56f5b6cadc0%2Fimg-0227.png)
Yesterday, Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden, who invited families of American hostages being held by Hamas to meet with Netanyahu as well. Netanyahu also met with Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee. Today, Netanyahu goes to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.
Joining me now with perspective on the dynamics of Israeli-US relations is Aaron David Miller, a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace.