A delegation of residents from northern Israel, evacuees and those enduring daily rocket fire, has arrived in Washington D.C. They will meet with Senate and Congress Members from both parties and deepen their awareness of the intolerable and explosive situation in Israel’s north.

Leading the delegation is former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Michael Oren. This is the second delegation of northern residents organized by Ambassador Oren. The current initiative is especially timely, given Hezbollah’s rapidly escalating aggression against Israel and the growing danger of large scale war.

The delegation includes civilians who have evacuated from the border area and uprooted from their jobs, communities, and schools for nearly a year. Others are residents of towns situated beyond the immediate border are but well within drone and rocket range. They will share their personal experiences of hardship, homelessness, and fear with Congress Members and Senators from both parties, with foreign ambassadors to the United States, with American Jewish leaders, and the press.

Among those meeting with the delegates are Senators Ted Cruz, Rick Scott, and Kristen Gilibrand, and Congress Members Ritchie Torres, Rick Scott, Nikki Budzinski, Glenn Ivey, Lucy McBath, Brian Mast, Jared Moskowitz, Brad Schneider, Don Davis, Lois Frankel, Jared Golden, and Grace Meng. The delegation will also participate in an AJC-hosted event with diplomats from the United Arab Emirates, the UK, Germany, Italy, and Japan, alongside officials from the U.S. State Department.

“Americans are largely unaware of the plight of Israel’s north,” Ambassador Oren said. “The delegation will deepen that awareness and strengthen Israel’s legitimacy in defending our land and people.”

Ambassador Oren spoke at the IAC National Summit and called on US Jewry to join the battle against lies, delegitimization of Israel and antisemitism.

As head of the Israel Advocacy Group, Ambassador Oren has brought the plight of Israel’s north to all forms of the media. He has stressed the 100,000 civilians driven from their homes, the tens of thousands of acres of forests and farmland incinerated, and the many dozens of people killed and wounded. In his recent military service in the region, he saw firsthand how entire neighborhoods have been destroyed by Hezbollah and formerly thriving cities reduced to ghost towns.