Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, visiting U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and their wives met in ancient Shiloh in the Binyamin region of southern Samaria on Monday evening, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, were invited to the joint dinner also attended by Johnson’s wife, Kelly Lary, Huckabee’s wife; Janet Huckabee; Congress members Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.); as well as Israel Ganz, head of the Yesha Council and head of the Binyamin Regional Council.
During the event, the Netanyahus also met with Yaron and Ditsa Or, the parents of 32-year-old hostage Avinatan Or.
Shiloh is historically significant as the ancient spiritual and religious center of Israel, where the Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant stood for nearly 370 years before the First Temple was built in Jerusalem.
During a visit to the site where the Tabernacle stood, Johnson offered a prayer “for our nation and for peace in Jerusalem—peace for Israel,” he said in a video statement.
“We’re so grateful to be joined by all of our friends, thank you,” added Johnson, speaking alongside Ganz.
Ganz told the speaker: “We are praying for you, and we are praying for President Trump, the bravest president we’ve met.
“Speaker Johnson, you came here, from the capital of the United States to the first capital of Israel,” he stated. “You found the time to come here, and that gives us strength. When we are united, no evil in the world can defeat us.
“This is not about ‘you’ or ‘us.’ We are together. We have a shared mission, to build a better, brighter future,” according to Ganz.
Johnson declared that Judea and Samaria belong to the Jewish people “by right” during a historic visit to Ariel on Monday, according to a statement issued by the Samaria capital.
“The Bible teaches that the hills of Judea and Samaria were promised to the Jewish people and belong to you by right,” Johnson said during the tour with local leaders, according to a readout of his remarks provided by the Ariel Municipality. “The world may not see it that way, but we do.”
