Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied reports claiming he will speak before a joint meeting of Congress on June 13.
Netanyahu’s office denied the reports, explaining that this day falls on the second day of the Shavuot holiday, according to the Times of Israel.
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Shavuot is a two-day Jewish holiday that falls between June 11 and June 13, for those outside of Israel. For those in Israel, it is a one-day holiday.
The Jewish holiday “commemorates the date when G-d gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai over 3,000 years ago,” according to Chabad.
An inside source was reported to have confirmed to the Hill that Netanyahu would be speaking on this date.
Jake Sherman, a cofounder of Punchbowl News, also reported that Netanyahu would be speaking on this date in June. Sherman later added that “congressional leadership in the Capitol has all been told that the speech will definitively be happening on June 13.”
“Netanyahu’s office says no date has been set,” Sherman added.
Breitbart News senior editor-at-large Joel Pollak also added in a post on X that June 13 was “a bad date” as it would “still be the Jewish holiday of Shavuot in the Diaspora (not in Israel).”
On Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) revealed that he was “honored” to invite Netanyahu to “address a joint meeting of Congress.”
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Johnson, along with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) signed a letter addressed to Netanyahu inviting him to speak before a joint Congressional meeting.
In response, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) stated that he would “not attend” a speech given by “war criminal” Netanyahu before Congress.
The invitation for Netanyahu to speak before Congress comes after the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced in May that it was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders.
Several officials within the Democrat party have sharply criticized Netanyahu for Israel’s ongoing offensive operation in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas’s attack.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists attacked Israel by land, sea, and air, murdering 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage.
In response to the attack, Israel announced a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip and launched a military offensive operation to destroy Hamas.