President Isaac Herzog departed on Monday night for a diplomatic visit to the United States of America. During his visit he will meet President Biden at the White House, and address a special joint session of the Houses of Congress marking the State of Israel’s 75th year of independence. The visit follows an invitation by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi and the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, and marks the President's second visit to the US since taking office.
President Herzog commented before embarking on the journey to the US: “I am departing for the United States, on a moving mission, to mark the 75th anniversary of Israel's independence. I was invited by former Speaker of Congress, Nancy Pelosi from the Democratic Party, and by the current Speaker of Congress, Kevin McCarthy from the Republican Party, to speak at a special joint session of Congress to mark the 75th anniversary of Israel's independence. An exciting and rare event, where I will speak on behalf of all the citizens of Israel. I will tell the exciting, amazing Israeli story, I will speak of the relationship between Israel and the United States, a deep relationship based on shared values that go back generations and transcends administrations and governments.”
“I am looking forward to meeting tomorrow with President Joe Biden, a true friend of the State of Israel, who loves Israel. I was happy that even just this evening, in his conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, the President reiterated America’s commitment to Israel's security, to the fight against Iran, to the fight against our enemies in general in the region, and to our close cooperation in the security, economic, and political fields.”
He continued, “I will also meet the Vice President, the UN Secretary General, the heads of Jewish organizations, and other senior officials.”
The President stressed, “Even when I am there in the United States, my heart and thoughts will be with what is happening in Israel. I once again call on the Members of the Knesset, and all those active in the public sphere. It is possible to arrive at reasonable formulas - both on the subject of the reasonableness clause, and on other matters. It simply requires effort, it requires ceding a little, it requires entering the room, it doesn't have to be at the President's Residence, it can also be behind the scenes in the Knesset. Make an effort. The price is too great. Tisha B'av (a day of national Jewish mourning) is in less than two weeks, and we need to remember the cost of division, of strife, of internal tension. We need remember the very costly price that a nation pays, when with a little goodwill instead, it could have solved these challenges. I urge everyone to make this extra effort, especially this week.”