Despite confirmation from an Israeli embassy spokesman that all members of Congress were invited to the embassy’s annual party in D.C. on Monday — which coincided with the grand opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem — no Democrats were present at the event in America’s capital.
According to the Times of Israel, “The offices of two other Jewish Democratic lawmakers — Reps. Ted Deutch of Florida and Nita Lowey of New York — said they were invited but that the event fell on a ‘district day’ and they were not in Washington to attend the affair. Indeed, Congress itself was not in session on Monday, so many legislators were out of town.”
At the D.C. event, which saw over 1,000 attendees, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, reportedly praised President Donald Trump for the embassy move saying it was a “large leap for truth.”
In Israel, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) — who was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000 along with Al Gore for president — came to Jerusalem to join in the festivities.
“I’m not disappointed, but I’m surprised, because support for it has been broadly bipartisan,” Lieberman told Breitbart News. “I don’t want there to be a misimpression that this is a partisan act. And I would hope that Democrats understand that this is not a pro-Trump rally. It is a pro-U.S.-Israel partnership, alliance rally,” he added.
According to the Times of Israel, only two Democrats pledged full support for President Trump’s decision to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv; namely Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY).
“As with everything else Donald Trump does, most Democrats saw this as an extremely provocative and reckless intervention in Middle East politics,” a Jewish Democratic legislator who wished to remain anonymous told the publication about the embassy move.
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.