Herzog to meet Biden, address Congress on US visit

The Israeli president is bringing Leah Goldin, mother of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in action in the Gaza Strip in 2014 and whose body is being held by the Hamas terrorist group.

By JNS

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will depart for the United States on Monday where he is scheduled to visit the White House and address a joint session of Congress.

Herzog’s trip to Washington and New York this week is meant to strengthen the ties between the two countries, “which are placed above all controversy,” his office said.

He will meet with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other senior officials during the visit, which wraps up after he spends Shabbat in New York. He will address Congress on Tuesday.

“I am very much looking forward to representing the entire nation of Israel as president of the State of Israel before the elected representatives of the American people, to mark the 75th anniversary of the State of Israel,” Herzog said ahead of the trip.

“The United States is Israel’s closest and most important friend and partner. The relationship between our countries is unique in its strength, which has rightly made it an unassailable alliance.

“I thank the leadership of the United States Congress, led by Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and his predecessor Nancy Pelosi, for the historic privilege to address a joint session of both Houses of Congress marking the 75th anniversary of the State of Israel.”

The president will be accompanied on the trip by his older brother, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog, and outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides. Isaac Herzog is also bringing Leah Goldin, the mother of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in action in the Gaza Strip in 2014 and whose body is being held by the Hamas terrorist group.

It will be the second address ever given to a joint session of Congress by an Israeli president. The Herzog brothers’ father, Chaim Herzog, the sixth president of Israel, delivered the first address in 1988.