After a week-long stay in the United States, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, departed for the Jewish state early Sunday.
Their flight from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland was briefly delayed due to de-icing, and was expected to arrive in approximately 10 hours.
During his visit to Washington, the Israeli premier became the first foreign leader to meet with newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. Netanyahu also met with senior Trump administration officials, congressional leaders on Capitol Hill, evangelical Christian leaders and Jewish students. His visit did not include sit-downs with leaders of Jewish organizations.
During a meeting at the Willard InterContinental Hotel on Friday, Netanyahu urged 30 Jewish college students and recent graduates to stand up against antisemitism, emphasizing that strength earns respect, according to Jewish Insider.
“If you fight, you’ll be respected. If you bow your head, you’ll be despised,” he told attendees from universities such as Harvard and Georgetown.
Standing aside Netanyahu, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pledged “ironclad” support for the Jewish state on Friday.
“As Prime Minister Netanyahu said Tuesday at the White House, when our enemies see daylight between Israel and the United States, they will exploit it,” said Johnson following a closed-door meeting with the prime minister. “We all know that is true, and that’s why strong, decisive leadership is so crucial in this time.”
Originally scheduled for Thursday, the meeting was postponed due to budget talks at the White House.
Following Johnson’s remarks, Netanyahu also talked about the close relationship between the United States and Israel, which he said was only reinforced during his visit this week, including his meeting at the White House with Trump.
“I was deeply moved by the reception that we got, the substantive things that we discussed—making sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and also making sure Hamas is destroyed,” said Netanyahu. “We’re not going to have a future for Gaza or a future for peace in our part of the world if Hamas remains there.”
“It sets the tone for this great strengthening of the American-Israeli alliance,” he added. “It’s not only an alliance between governments. It’s an alliance between peoples.”
