Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, on Friday thanked US lawmakers for attending last week’s speech to Congress given by his brother, President Isaac Herzog.
“I would like to thank our friends on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers for attending President Herzog’s important speech in the joint session of Congress and for your expressions of friendship and support. Last week’s historic visit to Washington by President Isaac Herzog highlighted the deep relationship between Israel and the US,” Ambassador Herzog tweeted.
“I was heartened to see the resounding bipartisan support shown in Congress and hear about the warm conversations that members had with the President,” he added.
Herzog’s speech was a success and he was received enthusiastically by the lawmakers. The speech was boycotted by only a handful of lawmakers from the Democratic Party, all members of the so-called “Squad” who have long criticized Israel and its government.
Before Herzog’s speech, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution condemning antisemitism and stating that Israel is not a racist state.
The vote was 412-9, with 195 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting yes. Nine Democrats voted against the non-binding resolution, several of whom have previously denounced Israel as an “apartheid state”. One Democrat voted present.
The resolution was a Republican response to Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who had previously called Israel a “racist state”, before walking back the comments and stating that she had directed them at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)