Netanyahu to be given a 'bust of Churchill' for speech at Congress

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks at the dedication of a bust of Winston Churchill at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 2013. The bust is being placed pursuant to H. Res. 497, which was authored by House Speaker John Boehner and passed the House shortly before the 70th anniversary of Churchill's wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks at the dedication of a bust of Winston Churchill at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 2013.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner plans to give Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a bust of Winston Churchill when he speaks to a joint meeting of Congress about the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran.

The gift was chosen because Mr Netanyahu and the former prime minister of Britain are the only foreign leaders who have addressed Congress three separate times.

The speech on Tuesday is controversial because Mr Boehner invited Mr Netanyahu to appear at a time when international negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme are at a critical juncture.

Mr Netanyahu told a Jewish lobby group that his speech is not intended to inject Israel into American political debate, yet some Democrats plan to skip his address.

Mr Boehner has also invited former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.