US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), a longtime supporter of the State of Israel, is set to address a special session of the Israeli Knesset on June 22, according to a statement from the Speaker’s office.
“It will be one of the highest honors of my life to address the Israeli Knesset at this fateful moment,” Johnson said in the statement. “Our ties run deeper than military partnerships and trade agreements. We’re bound by the same beliefs, the same psalms, and the same sacred pursuit of liberty.
“Today, the State of Israel and Jewish people around the world face grave threats, and it is our moral imperative to stand by our sister democracy,” Johnson said.
“As terror and vile antisemitic ideology threaten Western civilization, Israel must know that when America said, ‘Never again,’ we meant it,” he added.
This past Monday night, Johnson led a vigil on the steps of the Capitol to honor two Israeli embassy staffers who were murdered in a targeted antisemitic attack last month in Washington DC.
“This attack was targeted, antisemitic terrorism — there are no shades of gray,” Johnson declared. “We must stand up and protect our Jewish brothers and sisters,” he said at the time.
Israeli Speaker ‘Looking Forward’ to Johnson’s Visit
Likud Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana responded to the announcement with a warm statement of his own, calling Johnson “a great friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”
Ohana noted that Johnson stepped up to support the Jewish State in its most challenging moments “from the moment he was elected,” not only through words but also taking “decisive action, even at the risk of his position.”
The Israeli Speaker said he is looking forward to hosting his American counterpart and “hearing his words to the nation.”
