Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an invitation from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to address a joint session of The Congress. Scattered protests are precipitating yet is anyone really paying attention? I hope so.

The folks at Catholic Peace Ministry called for a protest at the federal building in Des Moines on Wednesday, July 24, at 3 p.m. We’ll see the turnout, yet my sense is Iowans are only moderately engaged with the Israel-Hamas War and its impact on Palestinians.

“Catholic Peace Ministry has shifted its focus toward covering and reporting on the atrocities committed during the ongoing hostilities between the Palestinian people and Israel,” according to their website. “Beyond just covering the conflict, CPM is currently taking concrete steps to become a voice of historical education and peace in this issue area. Wednesday’s protest is part of the effort.”

The invitation to the protest reads as follows:

While Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under investigation by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, & his government is facing charges of genocide in the International Court of Justice, the US Congress has invited him to speak to their body.

There will be no one there to speak for the 37,000+ people Israel has killed inside Gaza—including nearly 12,000 children.

Join us on the streets to speak for the murdered and to demand the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu.

I find myself agreeing with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend,” Sanders wrote. “The International Criminal Court is seeking warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas. The ICC is right. Both of these people are engaged in clear and outrageous violations of international law.”

Who is paying attention to the Israel-Hamas War? Generations of young people who find U.S. support of the war to be reprehensible. These are the same young people Democratic leaders are counting on to elect a Democratic president. In discussing the war with millennial friends, Democrats have a distance to go before securing the votes of many of them.

The Catholic Peace Ministry protest is on Wednesday, July 24, beginning at 3 p.m. at the Federal Building, 210 Walnut Street, Des Moines.