WASHINGTON (JTA) — House Speaker John Boehner will be visiting Israel soon.
Boehner will make his visit during the two-week recess starting March 30, the Ohio Republican’s office said in a statement over the weekend to National Public Radio.
The statement said Boehner “looks forward to visiting the country, discussing our shared priorities for peace and security in the region, and further strengthening the bond between the United States and Israel.”
The announcement came just days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reelected March 17 to a third consecutive term, as well as a sharp deterioration in relations between the Netanyahu and Obama governments over Israeli-Palestinian talks and Iran policy.
Boehner and Netanyahu, along with the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, organized Netanyahu’s March 3 speech to Congress in which Netanyahu lambasted President Barack Obama’s Iran policy. They did not inform the White House of the invitation until the morning it was issued and did not inform congressional Democrats.
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