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Schumer to Join Invite for Netanyahu Address to US Congress After Calling for Israeli Leader’s Ouster

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) holds a press conference in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 23, 2024. Photo: Annabelle Gordon / CNP/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is set to join House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in inviting Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to address a joint session of the US Congress less than two months after Schumer called for the Israeli premier’s ouster from office.

“He intends to join the invitation; the timing is being worked out,” a Schumer spokesperson told The Hill.

Johnson reportedly sent Schumer a draft invitation last month but had not received a response.

Schumer’s decision to greenlight Netanyahu’s address came after the lawmaker called for new elections in Israel to replace the prime minister during a March 14 speech on the Senate floor.

Schumer, ​​the highest-ranking Jewish US elected official, accused Netanyahu of aligning himself with “extremists” and condemned his approach to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

“It has become clear to me the Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7,” Schumer said, noting the date when Hamas terrorists invaded the Jewish state from Gaza and started the conflict.

In response, Netanyahu called Schumer’s remarks “totally inappropriate.”

“It’s inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there. That’s something the Israeli public does on its own,” Netanyahu said on CNN.

Schumer’s decision to support the invitation to Netanyahu sparked a wave of backlash from progressive politicians and activists.

Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner condemned the invitation in a post on X/Twitter, writing, “Netanyahu should not be welcomed to Congress. How shameful.”

Matt Stoller, a progressive political pundit and writer, called Schumer’s decision “incoherent.”

“You can’t give a major address on Netanyahu and then immediately backtrack,” Stoller said on X.

Cenk Uygur, founder of the left-wing media outlet The Young Turks, similarly denounced Schumer’s decision.

“After pretending to be tough on him, Schumer is now inviting Netanyahu to speak to Congress,” the commentator posted on social media. “After he’s slaughtered 25,000 women and children, our politicians give him $17 billion, pass laws making it illegal to criticize his government, and invite him to lecture us. Disgusting.”

In the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel — in which the Palestinian terror group killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 253 others as hostages — Democratic politicians have grown increasingly critical of the Israeli military response in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by Hamas.

In February, a group of Democratic lawmakers from 12 states sent a letter to US President Joe Biden calling for a “ceasefire” in Gaza. The following month, several Senate Democrats penned a letter demanding that Biden stop US military assistance to Israel.

A growing number of prominent Democrats have also made recent statements calling to condition Washington’s military aid to Israel and even suggesting the Jewish state is committing genocide.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said in April that there was “ample evidence” that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. Weeks later, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called on Netanyahu to “resign.” She also signed onto a recent letter from several House Democrats urging the Biden administration to halt further arms transfers to the Jewish state.

Polling suggests that the Democratic Party’s voter base has started to sour on Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Sixty-three percent of Democrats believe that Israel has “gone too far” in its military campaign following the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7, according to an AP-NORC poll from January. Meanwhile, 49 percent of Democrats believe that Israel is committing a “genocide” in Gaza, according to an Economist/YouGov poll.

Amid the mounting pressure from his own party, Biden has threatened to pull back US support for Israel, citing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Hamas terrorists embed themselves within the civilian population and use civilian sites — such as hospitals — to house their command and operation centers.

Corey Walker is a journalist based in Washington, DC.

The post Schumer to Join Invite for Netanyahu Address to US Congress After Calling for Israeli Leader’s Ouster first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hezbollah Says Lebanon Move on Army Plan Is ‘Opportunity,’ Urges Israel to Commit to Ceasefire

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the cabinet stand as they attend a cabinet session to discuss the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, September 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters on Saturday that the group considered Friday’s cabinet session on an army plan to establish a state monopoly on arms “an opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown.”

Lebanon’s cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the army had limited capabilities.

But it said continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon would hamper the army’s progress. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lebanese information minister Paul Morcos stopped short of saying the cabinet had formally approved the plan.

Qmati told Reuters that Hezbollah had reached its assessment based on the government’s declaration on Friday that further implementation of a US roadmap on the matter was dependent on Israel’s commitment. He said that without Israel halting strikes and withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s implementation of the plan should remain “suspended until further notice.”

Lebanon’s cabinet last month tasked the army with coming up with a plan that would establish a state monopoly on arms and approved a US roadmap aimed at disarming Hezbollah in exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

Qmati said that Hezbollah “unequivocally rejected” those two decisions and expected the Lebanese government to draw up a national defense strategy.

Israel last week signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the army took action to disarm Hezbollah. Meanwhile, it has continued its strikes, killing four people on Wednesday.

A national divide over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken center stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group.

Lebanon is under pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals to disarm the group. But Hezbollah has pushed back, saying it would be a serious misstep to even discuss disarmament while Israel continues its air strikes on Lebanon and occupies swathes of territory in the south.

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem last month raised the specter of civil war, warning the government against trying to confront the group and saying street protests were possible.

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UK Police Arrest Dozens at Latest Protest for Banned Palestine Action

Demonstrators attend the “Lift The Ban” rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

British police arrested dozens more people on Saturday under anti-terrorism laws for demonstrating in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned by the government as a terrorist organization.

Britain banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes. The group accuses Britain’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Police have arrested hundreds of Palestine Action supporters in recent weeks under anti-terrorism legislation, including over 500 in just one day last month, many of them over the age of 60.

On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near parliament in central London to protest against the ban on Saturday, with many holding up signs that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers had begun arresting those expressing support for Palestine Action. Police did not say how many arrests were made but a Reuters witness said dozens of people were detained.

Palestine Action’s ban, or proscription, puts the group alongside al-Qaeda and ISIS and makes it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

“I can be unequivocal, if you show support for Palestine Action – an offense under the Terrorism Act – you will be arrested,” Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said on Friday. “We have the officer numbers, custody capacity and all other resources to process as many people as is required.”

Human rights groups have criticized Britain’s decision to ban the group as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.

The government has accused Palestine Action of causing millions of pounds worth of criminal damage and says the ban does not prevent other pro-Palestinian protests.

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Macron’s Meeting with American Jewry ‘Won’t Happen’ Amid Palestinian Recognition Drive, Surge in Antisemitism

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference in Paris, France, June 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

i24 NewsFrench President Emmanuel Macron attempted to set up a meeting with American Jewish leaders later this month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

i24NEWS has learned that the meeting won’t happen, firstly because Macron was only available for the meeting ahead of the UN General Assembly during Rosh Hashanah, and yet, a person invited to meet with Macron and who has knowledge of the discussions told i24NEWS the sit-down simply wasn’t going to happen, anyway.

“I think the organizations, for the most part, would not have participated,” the person said, adding that AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee would have likely received invitations, among other entities.

“The guy has a 15% popularity rating in France. It’s not our job to help him out,” the person said.

Asked by i24NEWS whether Macron’s push for greater Palestinian state recognition or his lack of action in tackling antisemitism at home led to the stance of organized American Jewry, the person said it’s more of “the climate” which allows one to say ‘Look, the American Jews met with me,’ regardless of the content.”

The person said they are sure, if a meeting would have happened, that everybody in the room would have taken a hard line with Macron, including his “statements on Israel, the failure to respond to antisemitism” and France’s announcement this summer that it will recognize a Palestinian state later this month, and is leading an effort to get more countries to do the same.

But, the person told i24NEWS they are convinced that, in the end, while no final decision actually had to be taken, there was enough pressure that a consensus would have been reached to decline the meeting.

Of the timing of Rosh Hashanah allowing for leadership to not be forced to officially say no to Macron, the person said “G-d saves us every time.”

Another source familiar with the matter noted that it cannot be ruled out that Macron may eventually succeed in arranging a meeting with certain representatives, as the organizations are not a single unified body. However, he is unlikely to be welcomed by the overwhelming majority of groups representing American Jewry.

i24NEWS has also learned that French President Emmanuel Macron explored the possibility of visiting Israel ahead of the convention, but was advised by the Prime Minister’s Office that the timing was inappropriate. The message came as Macron continues to push for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move Israel strongly opposes. Sources further told i24NEWS that Israel is weighing additional retaliatory measures against Macron, including the potential closure of the French consulate in Jerusalem, which primarily serves Palestinians in the West Bank.

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