President Reuven Rivlin met on Monday with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.

“Mr. President, it is an official honor, as Speaker of the House, to welcome you to the United States Capitol. It is a personal pleasure for me to do so, as one who has admired your leadership for such a time,” Pelosi said in remarks before the meeting.

“The last time we were together was, right before COVID struck, in Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz,” she continued. “At your invitation I was honored to bring a bipartisan delegation to be with you, to pay our respects. On the way we stopped at Auschwitz, to make the experience even more meaningful to us.”

“Upon our return, we passed legislation to allocate more resources for the study of the Holocaust in America. That was the last time we were together, but all along we have had a great friendship. The support for Israel in this Congress has always been strongly bipartisan and will continue to be so because of our shared values and because of our mutual security concerns,” stressed Pelosi.

President Rivlin said, “Madam Speaker, I’m so delighted to be here and meet you once again. Thank you for participation in the event to mark 75 years of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in January of 2020.”

“Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America,” he added. “The unique ties between the two nations have always been based on share values of democracy and liberalism. We are partners, we are friends, our nations bound together.”

“Friends may have disagreements from time to time. This will never endanger our close relationship. Our shared mission crosses the boundaries of parties and governments. Even when leadership changes, our obligations to each other remains strong.”

“I know that the security and the well-being of the Israeli people, as well as the American-Jewish living here in the United States, are very very close to your heart. On behalf of the people of Israel, I thank you, Madam Speaker, and all the American people, and the American administrations, for your solid support for the State of Israel and for Israel’s security,” said Rivlin.

“Thank you for receiving me in the Capitol. The Capitol is the shrine of democracy for all the free world. Thank you so very much,” he concluded.