Rep. Darrell Issa claimed Tuesday that protesters whom he described as supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris could disrupt Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday.
Much of the U.S. Capitol campus, such as the Capitol Visitor Center and Library of Congress, will be closed to the public Wednesday in response to planned protests.
Hundreds of demonstrators organized by Jewish Voice for Peace also staged a sit-in at the Cannon Rotunda Tuesday to protest Netanyahu’s visit and continued military aid to Israel.
The Republican, who represents east San Diego County, called on Harris, who is the likely Democratic nominee for President, to “tell your supporters not to shut down the Capitol tomorrow.”
“The Capitol Police has informed members and staff that an estimated 25,000 protestors — made up almost exclusively of political supporters and allies of expected Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris — will descend on the House of Representatives tomorrow to oppose Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech before a joint session of the House and Senate,” the statement read.
Harris will be in Indianapolis Wedesday, and will thus not be present at either the speech or the protest. An aide said she would meet with Netanyahu separately during the week.
The statement went on to claim that an “overwhelming mob of anti-Israel protesters and Kamala Harris political supporters are planning an overwhelming show of force.”
The statement did not offer details about the show of force.
“It is outrageous that the public is being denied available entry into Congress…. In America, the mob should not be allowed to win,” the statement said.
Netanyahu was invited to address Congress by House and Senate leadership in May. This week, several elected Democrats announced that they would be boycotting the address, including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois).
“I will stand by Israel,” Durbin said in a statement, “but I will not stand and cheer its current Prime Minister at tomorrow’s Joint Session.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), also announced a boycott of the speech, calling Netanyahu a “war criminal,” as did Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and other members of the House and Senate.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed approximately 1,200 people, and kidnapped 251 others, mostly Israelis.
More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli response, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israel denies accusations of war crimes.
