Congressmembers Participate in Fact-Finding, Educational Trip to Israel Prior to Peace Talks

This year’s trip included the largest delegation of freshmen Representatives ever.

Each year, the American Israel Education Foundation sponsors a Congressional trip to Israel. The trip is intended to help educate political leaders and influentials about the importance of the U.S./Israel relationship through firsthand experiences in Israel, briefings by experts on Middle East affairs, and meetings with Israeli political elite. 

This year’s trip included the largest delegation of freshmen Representatives ever, out of 37 Congressmen in attendance, 31 were freshmen. The group was led by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who has participated in the trip for 13 years.

This year's participants included: Rep. Ron Barber (D-AZ); Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA); Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA); Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL); Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA); Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL); Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI); Rep. Gene Green (D-TX); Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM); Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA); Rep. Hakeem Jeffreys (D-NY); Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA); Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL); Rep. Brad Schnieder (D-IL); Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV); Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX); and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA).

The following are various articles, podcasts and audio clips in the press about this year’s trip to Israel.

Steny Hoyer: Let Israel build in East Jerusalem

By Mackenzie Weinger, Politico, August 11, 2013

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, who is leading a congressional delegation on a week-long trip to Israel, broke with U.S. policy on Thursday and said the Jewish state should be allowed to build in disputed East Jerusalem.
Just two days after the State Department blasted Israel’s recent authorization of additional housing construction in the eastern section of the holy city, Hoyer told POLITICO in an interview that he sees the area as a Jewish neighborhood that must be expanded to accommodate growth.

Read the Full Article 

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Rep. Ron Barber: Israel trip ‘a life-changing experience’

By Sheila Wilensky, AJP Associate Editor, August 15, 2013

Israel and Southern Arizona have ties that bind — in both the economic and national security realms. U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, who describes himself as “a strong supporter of Israel,” participated in a fact-finding trip to Israel from Aug. 5 to 11. Barber is a Tucson Democrat and a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
He was among a congressional group that met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdalla in Ramallah, Barber told the AJP by phone from Jerusalem. They also met with the Israeli company that makes the short-range rocket interceptor Iron Dome, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems, which makes components for David’s Sling, a longer range missile defense system it developed jointly for Israel with Rafael, “is very interested in co-production of Iron Dome. Israel needs back-up for production” because of its own vulnerability, he said.

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Congressman Ami Bera Takes Tour of Israel
By Ross Farrow, Lodi News-Sentinel, August 14, 2013
Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, returned Tuesday from a congressional delegation visit to Israel. The trip included meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian chief negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat.
 
Bera also visited military sites such the Iron Dome air defense system to give him insight into the region while highlighting the strategic partnership between Israel and the United States, according to a news release from Bera’s office.

Read the Full Article 

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Congressman Braley Back from Trip to Middle East
By O. Kay Anderson, Radioiowa.com, August 15, 2013
 
Congressman Bruce Braley has just returned from a trip to the Middle East where he met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders who’ve agreed to resume peace talks.
 
“The thing that was most encouraging is everyone we spoke to from the (Israeli) prime minister to Shimon Perez to the chief negotiator for the Palestinian authority — all spoke glowingly about the role of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in bringing them back to the table and convincing them that there was a path forward,” Braley says.
 
Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, was one of 37 members of congress to make the trip.

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Congresswoman Part of Trip to Israel
WGIL.com, August 15, 2013
 
17th District Congresswomawn Cheri Bustos is just back from her first overseas trip as an elected official. The East Moline Democrat was part of a Congressional delegation comprising of her and 36 others that went to Israel and the West Bank. Bustos says in a press release she and the delegation met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas. She says high-level meetings and briefings were held, along with visits with other regional leaders. 

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Hudson Valley Congressman Discusses Israel Trip
By Allison Dunne, WAMC.org, August 14, 2013
Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney joined 36 other House Democrats on the weeklong trip, sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, a charitable organization affiliated with AIPAC - the American Israel Public Affairs Committee - America's pro-Israel lobby. The Foundation funds educational seminars to Israel for congressional members and others with political influence. The trips are designed to help educate visitors about the importance of the U.S. - Israel relationship. Maloney says he met with the Israeli prime minister and others.

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37 House Dems, Including Hakeem Jeffries, Heading to Israel
by Jacob Kornbluh, JPudates.com, August 4, 2013
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the second-ranked Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, is leading fellow Democrats on a tour of Israel funded by AIPAC’s educational affiliate. Two freshmen, Reps. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced they were joining this week’s tour, which will include meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as well as tours of U.S.-funded defense systems, including the short range Iron Dome anti-missile program.

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Rep. Kennedy Returns from Israel Optimistic
By Bryan Bender, The Boston Globe, August 13, 2013
Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, who returned Monday from a 10-day fact-finding trip to the Middle East, says he has renewed hopes that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians jump-started by Secretary of State John F. Kerry will achieve a breakthrough.
After meeting with senior Israeli and Palestinian leaders as part of a large congressional delegation, the Democrat said that despite all the challenges confronting the region -- including the civil war in Syria, political strife in Egypt, and threats from Iran and its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon -- there is a palpable sense of possibility compared with his previous visit there last year.
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Congressman Brad Schneider reflects on his August 2013 trip to Israel
JUF.org, August 16, 2013
On August 14, 2013 Roey Gilad, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, hosted U.S. Congressman Brad Schneider in a roundtable discussion with Jewish community leaders to discuss the Congressman’s recent trip to Israel. The discussion included reflections on the U.S.-Israel relationship, Secretary of State Kerry’s efforts to bring Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table, the situation in Israel’s neighboring states, and ongoing efforts to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability.

Listen to the Podcast

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Titus Plans Trip to Israel Starting Sunday
By Steve Tetreault, Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 3, 2013
Rep. Dina Titus will depart Sunday for a weeklong trip to Israel as part of a congressional delegation that will meet with senior Israeli and Palestinian leaders, her office said Friday.
Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the House minority whip, is heading a group of 37 lawmakers on the trip, which is being paid by the American Israel Education Foundation, which organizes travel each summer for members of Congress.
The delegation is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the week.

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Before Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Rep. Marc Veasey meets with leaders
By Emily Wilkins, Dallas Morning News, August 15, 2013

Just before the Israeli and Palestinian leaders began peace talks this week, Fort Worth Democrat Rep. Marc Veasey met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud.
Veasey made the seven-day trip to Israel with 36 other Democratic members of Congress. It was his first trip abroad since taking office in January.
“This was a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of the complex range of views dealing with the Middle East and the Israel-U.S. relationship,” he said.

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