Both members of Congress who represent parts of Dorchester deliberately missed yesterday's joint session of Congress which featured a speech from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Rep. Stephen Lynch joined many other prominent Democrats, including Massachusetts delegation colleagues Sen. Ed Markey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in skipping Netanyahu's address.

In a statement issued on July 25, Lynch said the Israeli leader was using his visit to the US Capitol "as a political ploy to use our House Chamber as a backdrop to strengthen his weakened political position back in Israel."

Lynch, who considers himself "a longtime supporter of the state of Israel, her security, and of the Jewish people," added: "Having visited Gaza on multiple occasions and knowing how densely populated that area is, I believe M. Netanyahu's relentless attacks on innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza, including unthinkable numbers of women and children, are clearly intentional and could be fairly judged to be war crimes."

Rep. Pressley spoke on the floor of the House earlier on July 24 to call on the US to stop sending weapons to Israel and to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

"While the United States Congress wrongly platforms Prime Minister Netanyahu today, a war criminal, I want to platform the people, the civilians killed, the hostages, their families," she said.

In a statement issued yesterday, Sen. Markey said he would meet with the family of a hostage kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 terrorist attack.

Markey and Warren also called for a cease fire.

Lynch said Netanyahu has "disrespected" the "long and special relationship between and United States and Israel" and "has been publicly dismissive of President Biden's efforts to stop the slaughter of innocents in Gaza."