Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana hailed the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem during meetings with top U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Ohana held meetings with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) as part of the Washington trip, which coincided with a visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
“With leadership like his, I am confident the alliance between Israel and America will flourish for many more years,” Sa’ar tweeted after what he described as an “important meeting” with the Senate majority leader.
In the meeting with “a smart man, my friend” Graham, Ohana expressed Jerusalem’s gratitude for the senator’s “clear and unequivocal stance in the fight against terrorism and Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
“Together, we will ensure that freedom prevails,” he tweeted.
With Fetterman, Ohana held a “meaningful” meeting about Jew-hatred and terrorism, the Knesset speaker stated. “At a time when antisemitism is rising and terrorism continues to threaten innocent lives, he has been a consistent voice of common sense,” said Ohana, thanking Fetterman.
After arriving in New York on Sunday morning, Ohana visited the Ohel, the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson—and put on tefillin, or phylacteries, while reciting Psalms.
According to the Lubavitch-affiliated Anash.org website, the Knesset speaker prayed for the souls of fallen Israel Defense Forces troops, for the return of Ran Gvili, whose body is held by Hamas in Gaza, for the safety of all Jews in Israel and around the world, and for global unity.
He also spoke at the Altneu Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Ohana traveled to the United States to promote a joint initiative with Johnson to mobilize their counterparts worldwide to nominate U.S. President Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize over his role in brokering the ceasefire and hostage release with Hamas in Gaza.
