Amid persistent protests during his visit to the US capital, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced an unprecedented boycott from about half of the Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate as he addressed a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
Based on an exhaustive analysis of public statements, media reports and video footage, Anadolu determined that a historic number of House representatives and senators skipped Netanyahu's speech. The total of at least 96 lawmakers is nearly double the number of Democrats who boycotted his 2015 address -- 58.
The sweeping volume of holdouts stands in stark contrast to the dozens of standing ovations Netanyahu received from many of the lawmakers present Wednesday.
While many lawmakers had previously announced their intention to boycott the address, Representative Rashida Tlaib, the sole Palestinian-American lawmaker, chose to attend, donning a keffiyeh and holding a sign reading "war criminal" on one side, and "guilty of genocide" on the other in a prominent display of defiance.
After Netanyahu concluded his remarks, Tlaib said the standing ovations for the Israeli premier were "disgusting.”
Her criticism did not stand alone, however.
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