Mati Barnhart, knitted news17.01.23 12:24 24 Batvet Tishpag
Credit: Jonathan Zindel, Flash 90
A rift between the US and the Israeli right: a delegation of Republican and Democrat senators arriving in Israel refuses to meet with representatives of the religious Zionist parties and Otzma Yehudit, Barak Ravid reported in Walla!, according to two senior Israeli officials and an American source.
This is the first time since the establishment of the new government that American officials have conveyed that they refuse to meet representatives of these parties.
The leader of the delegation, Democratic Senator Jackie Rosen, is a supporter of Israel and has passed many pro-Israel laws in Congress over the years, but this time made it clear to government officials that she will not meet with Itamar Ben Gabir or Bezalel Smotrich.
The delegation of senators consists of legislators who are part of the lobby for the Abraham Accords in the US Senate. The lobby was established at the same time as an identical lobby in the Knesset with the aim of promoting normalization between Israel and the Arab world.
Israel is the last stop in the visit of the American senators to the Middle East, after Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Four Democratic and three Republican senators participate in the delegation. Members of the delegation are expected to meet tomorrow with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and later also with Knesset Speaker Ohana, opposition leader Lapid and members of the lobby for the Abraham Accords in the Knesset.
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