 He said he has empathy for Palestinians in Gaza, but that Hamas is to blame. The senator also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an hour. Senator Federman criticized progressive Democrats in Congress who say they will boycott a speech that Netanyahu will be giving to a joint session of Congress in July. He said that would be bad performance art. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Jerusalem. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 60 points. You're listening to NPR.