10 | AUGUST 3 • 2023 

guest column

Mr. Herzog Goes to Washington
I

t’s never a surprise to see 
that anything having to 
do with Israel is going 
to invoke controversy. Such 
was once again the case on 
Wednesday, July 19, when 
the President of Israel, Isaac 
Herzog, a soft-
spoken, center-
left politician 
who holds a 
ceremonial 
position, came 
to Congress 
to address a 
joint session in 
commemoration of Israel’s 
75th anniversary. 
The controversy started as 
soon as the appearance was 
announced. Within days, nine 
members of the Progressive 
Caucus announced they 
would be boycotting the 
speech. Rep Ilan Omar, 
D-MN, tweeted that there 
was “no way in hell” she’d be 
attending. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, 
D-Mich, said “We’re here 
again reaffirming Congress’ 
support for apartheid,” and 
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair 
of the caucus, called Israel a 
“racist” state, a statement she 
later walked back. 
This quickly prompted a 
hasty bipartisan resolution 
supporting Israel on the eve 
of the speech, which passed 
overwhelmingly, 412-9. 
I was fortunate enough 
to be present at the speech 
on behalf of AIPAC, as the 
invited guest of Michigan 
Rep. Shri Thanedar. 
Before meeting up with 
Rep. Thanedar at his office, 
I waited in the downstairs 
cafeteria. The scene was 
immediately intriguing — 
familiar looking lawmakers 

everywhere, often in 
deep conversations 
over coffee, and a 
ton of staffers who 
all looked very 
professional, serious 
— and very young (I 
was definitely feeling 
my age). 
When it was time to go 
to the House chambers, I 
was escorted through a long 
maze of narrow underground 
tunnels. After 10 minutes, it 
started getting a bit crowded, 
but I had no clue where 
exactly we were. Suddenly, 
Lauren Boebert walked right 
beside me, and then Kristen 
Sinema, and then a slew of 
more and more recognizable 
members of Congress, TV 
journalists and a smattering 
of Orthodox Jews, all 
converging on the multiple 
doors and into the big event. 
People were visibly pumped 
up. Clearly, for me, this day 
was going to be different 
from all other days. 
I pushed open a door and 
before me was the panorama 
of the grand U.S. House of 
Representatives, the place 
I’ve only seen on television. 
The place where presidents 

deliver States of the Union, 
and FDR declared war. It is 
strikingly small and intimate, 
only about 10 rows deep. I 
was fixated on watching the 
familiar faces of the members 
comfortably milling around 
the floor before the speech. 
The schmoozing and displays 
of affection (Sinema is a big 
hugger) was bipartisan and 
seemingly genuine, a bizarre 
contrast to the divisiveness 
that actually abounds there. 
The president of Israel 
was suddenly announced, 
and a huge burst of jubilant 
applause exploded. It was a 
very long applause — five 
minutes maybe — and 
undeniably heartfelt. Anyone 
who thinks that congressional 
support for Israel is waning 
would be astonished to see 
the raucous support that was 
on display there. 
President Herzog started 
off by giving the crowd a 

bit of a history lesson. He 
informed everyone that he 
was standing on the exact 
spot where his father spoke 
when he was president of 
Israel 35 years ago. He noted 
that his grandfather, the Chief 
Rabbi of Israel, stood beside 
President Truman in the 
Oval Office as he officially 
recognized Israel, just 11 
minutes after statehood 
was declared. He then 
introduced Truman’s son, 
who was attending the 
speech. 
He expressed profound 
appreciation for U.S. 
support and the peace 
deals it has brokered over 
the years, saying that the 
U.S. has always “altered 
the trajectory of our 
country.” He called the 
relationship a “family” that 
is “unbreakable” and “deeply 
rooted” in shared values. 
“Today we reaffirm the 
future of our relationship,” 
he said, because “America is 
irreplaceable to Israel and 
Israel is irreplaceable to 
America,” a line that invoked 
a rousing standing ovation 
from the crowd. 
He addressed domestic 
issues in Israel, proclaiming 
that he is “well aware of 
the imperfections of Israel’s 
democracy,” but that it is still 
“strong and resilient.”
In a not-so-subtle dig at 
Prime Minister Netanyahu, 
he stressed the importance 
of a “strong and independent 
judiciary.”
He took Iran head on, 
stating that it’s Israel’s 
“greatest challenge” and 
cautioned the crowd that 
Iran “does not wish to attain 

PURELY COMMENTARY

Mark Jacobs

CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES/JTA

Israeli President Isaac 
Herzog addresses a 
joint meeting of the U.S. 
Congress at the Capitol, 
July 19, 2023. 

