Kevin McCarthy to Address Israeli Knesset; 2nd Speaker Since Gingrich

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will travel to Israel next week in a solidarity visit and will address the Israeli Knesset, or parliament — becoming the first U.S. speaker to do so since Newt Gingrich (R-GA) in 1998.

The announcement was made on Twitter on Tuesday by Amir Ohana, the Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the first gay person to hold the post.

Another historic milestone in US–Israel relations 🇱🇺🇸

עוד נקודת ציון היסטורית ביחסי ישראל-ארה״ב 🇺🇸🇱@SpeakerMcCarthy pic.twitter.com/lSVOmpu32G

— Amir Ohana – אמיר אוחנה (@AmirOhana) April 18, 2023

McCarthy’s visit will coincide with celebrations for Israel’s 75th anniversary, which falls next week on the Hebrew calendar. McCarthy acknowledged and accepted the invitation on Twitter on Tuesday as well:

My first trip abroad as Speaker will be a return to Israel to commemorate their 75th year of statehood.

The US-Israel relationship is as important as ever, and I’m proud to accept @AmirOhana’s invitation as the 2nd Speaker of the House in history to address the Knesset. 🇺🇸🇱

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) April 18, 2023

McCarthy will be leading a bipartisan delegation that will mark a sharp contrast to the attitude of President Joe Biden, who has refused to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, the country’s democratically-elected leader.

The visit will also come at a time when Israeli politicians are deeply divided over judicial reforms proposed by Netanyahu’s government, which would hold the power of the judiciary in check, curbing left-wing influence.

Moreover, McCarthy’s visit will boost U.S.-Israel ties at a time when the Biden administration is reportedly preparing to accept a partial nuclear deal with Iran, and as Iranian-backed terror groups are attacking Israel.

In 1998, marking the occasion of Israel’s 50th anniversary, Gingrich addressed the Knesset, declaring:

The ties that bind America to Israel are greater than the economic and security interest that our nations share. We are two nations grown from a common source, both forged by the courage and imagination of pioneers, and both expressing in our founding documents our ultimate reliance on Divine providence.

Gingrich also called on the Clinton administration to heed Congress and to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem — a promise that was only fulfilled by President Donald Trump twenty years later.

He also stressed the need for Israeli leadership on developing water supplies — a mission that Israel accepted and in which it has succeeded, using desalination and other technologies to become completely water independent.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.