A delegation of US congressional leaders on Wednesday lashed out at Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon after he purportedly refused to meet with them.
The delegation - made up of representatives William Delahunt of Massachusetts, Bob Filner and Lois Capps from California, Mary Jo Kilroy from Ohio, and Donald Payne from New Jersey - is in the country on behalf of the left-wing Jewish lobby group J-Street and the antagonistic Churches for Middle East Peace.
The Foreign Ministry released a statement on Thursday saying it was happy to meet with the congressional leaders. It indicated that such a meeting had been requested, but turned down after the lawmakers insisted that J-Street direct Jeremy Ben-Ami be part of it.
"The Foreign Ministry regrets the attempt to impose who will be present in the meetings, which is unacceptable in diplomatic life," read the statement.