US House Speaker Visits Jerusalem’s Western Wall

Speaker Kevin McCarthy: “Israel is a blessed nation, because of our shared values ​​we have a bond between the US and Israel that will never be severed.”

By Pesach Benson | | Topics: America
US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Photo by Western Wall Heritage Foundation
US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Photo by Western Wall Heritage Foundation

(TPS) US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers opened their visit to Israel on Sunday at the Western Wall.

The delegation of Republicans and Democrats was welcomed by the Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz who joined the lawmakers in prayer.

McCarthy (R-Calif.) signed the official guest book of the Western Wall and said: “On behalf of the US Congress, Israel is a blessed nation, because of our shared values ​​we have a bond between the US and Israel that will never be severed. I look forward to the next 75 years of Israel, of a long relationship that will grow stronger between us.”

The delegation was also joined by Mordechai “Soli” Eliav, CEO of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, who explained the significance of the holy site for the Jewish people.

The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Jewish Temples were built, is the overall holiest site in Judaism. The Western Wall is the only remnant of a retaining wall encircling the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great in the first century and is the holiest site where Jews can freely pray.

The delicate status quo governing the Temple Mount goes back to 1967, when Israel liberated the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six Day War. Fearing a religious war, then-defense minister Moshe Dayan agreed to let the Islamic Waqf, a Muslim trusteeship, continue managing the holy site’s day-to-day affairs, while Israel would maintain overall sovereignty and be responsible for security.

The delegation was also scheduled to visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Center. The lawmakers were accompanied there by Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

McCarthy was also scheduled to address the Knesset as it opens its summer session on Monday.

The only other US House Speaker to address the Knesset was Georgia Republican Newt Gingrich in 1998.

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