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July 19, 2023

Biden Vows Continued Support to Israel as Progressives Boycott Speech of President Herzog 
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President Joe Biden welcomed Israeli President Isaac Herzog to
Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, pledging U.S. support to Israel despite
rising violence and human rights abuses against Palestinians and the
continued expansion of illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem
and the West Bank. Herzog spoke to reporters outside the White House
after meeting Biden in the Oval Office.

President Isaac Herzog: "And we discussed, thus, many issues, including
the Iranian nuclear threat and the operations by Hezbollah to flare up
the region, as well as our ironclad alliance on security, including the
ability to build regional cooperation and move forward on the circle of
peace."

Herzog will address a joint meeting of Congress today. Some progressive
Democrats are planning to boycott the speech to protest Israel's
treatment of Palestinians. Among those skipping are New York's
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the first two Muslim women elected to
Congress: Minnesota's Ilhan Omar and Michigan's Rashida Tlaib, who is
Palestinian American.

On Tuesday, members of the House of Representatives voted 412 to 9 in
favor of a resolution proclaiming that Israel is "not a racist or
apartheid state." The vote was hastily organized after Congressmember
Pramila Jayapal, who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called
Israel a "racist state" in public remarks on Saturday. After facing
criticism, Congressmember Jayapal later clarified that her comments were
directed at the extreme right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.


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