Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looming large over the U.S. Congress, both in the literal sense — as Netanyahu beamed into Senate Republicans’ weekly luncheon Wednesday via video conference — and as lawmakers continue to negotiate foreign aid not only for Israel but also for Ukraine and Taiwan.
Netanyahu’s leadership is driving an ever-widening wedge between lawmakers on Israel, raising concerns among Democrats that heightened partisanship around Israel will only delay further action in Congress.
“I think there’s a danger that Republicans may try to turn support for Israel into a partisan issue, which would be really unfortunate,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said of Netanyahu calling in to the Senate Republicans’ luncheon. Blumenthal has supported sending aid to Israel and voted for the foreign aid bill currently stalled in the House. “There should be no partisan politics when it comes to aid for Israel.”