Herzog welcomes US House Speaker McCarthy, discusses Iran threat, Abraham Accords

Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy during his first visit to Israel since taking office in this position.

McCarthy first met Herzog for a private meeting, followed by a wider diplomatic meeting attended by the presidential advisors, such as Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog. In addition, the 17 Congress members who arrived as part of the delegation were also in attendance.

During the meeting, they discussed the strong relationship between the two nations and expressed their desire for deeper cooperation in various sectors.

“It is wonderful to see you here at the President's Residence," Herzog told McCarthy and the delegates. "It is an honor to have you here with us. We see all of you as great friends. We are extremely proud and happy to celebrate 75 years of our nation."

"Today, we are an amazing, thriving country, and our relationship with the United States runs in our DNA," Herzog continued. "America is a very close ally of ours. We are pleased with full integration in the region as a result of the Abraham Accords, which came after peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt. On the other hand, there is a great enemy threatening us not far from here. Half an hour in any direction from here is an enemy state, and we believe that the alliance with America is of great importance.” 

During the meetings, the parties also discussed the Iranian threat, the Abraham Accords, and the ongoing internal debates in Israel regarding the government's proposed judicial reform.

McCarthy thanked Herzog for his warm hospitality, saying, “Our delegation is a bipartisan group. There's no greater bond than our relationship. There is no other democracy in the Middle East. There are only two countries that were created with the idea, conceived in liberty but dedicated to the idea that everybody's equal."

"Sometimes you have tough neighbors, but we want to make sure that changes and I think the Abraham Accords was one of the greatest milestones that we could do towards this. And we need to build on that. We're here for the 75th anniversary – we didn't want to miss it – as we look forward to issues going forward."

McCarthy later met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem.