“Hell no,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman does not want to attend Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress, the New York Democrat told CNN. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced last week at an event hosted by the Israeli Embassy that Congress would “soon” host Netanyahu at the Capitol for a joint session of Congress, but he has yet to publicly set a date. 

“This will be a timely and I think a very strong show of support to the Israeli government and their time of greatest need,” Mr. Johnson said in his remarks. 

Mr. Bowman will not be the only progressive Democrat boycotting the speech amid concerns about Israel’s handling of the war against Hamas. Sen. Bernard Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats, previously told CNN he would not attend the speech as he accused Netanyahu of “all-out war against the entire Palestinian people, women and children.”

Mr. Bowman, a member of “the Squad,” a group of eight progressive Democrats serving in the House, also said in the interview with CNN that he supports the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, as well as top Hamas leaders, for war crimes in Gaza.

“The ICC has their process of determining what’s a war crime and what isn’t,” he said. “Obviously, the warrants for the Hamas fighters who did what they did on October 7 are warranted, and it seems like they are warranted for Netanyahu as well.”

Lawmakers in both parties have denounced the ICC’s effort to secure an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his top defense official. Republican lawmakers have said they plan to draft legislation sanctioning the ICC and are hoping for Democrats’ cooperation.

• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.