Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday met with members of US Congress brought to Israel by J Street, the first time in years that an Israeli cabinet official has met with the progressive left-wing organization, which was unofficially boycotted under former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The delegation members, including J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami, also met with Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli (Labor), Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frij (Meretz), Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg (Meretz), and Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev (Labor).

Lapid omitted the mention of J Street on his Twitter post about the meeting, writing only that he met with “a delegation of Democratic members of Congress.”

This evening at the Knesset, I met with a delegation of Democratic members of Congress. I thanked them for supporting the replenishment of the Iron Dome missile defense system, and we discussed the importance of continuing to strengthen the US-Israel relationship. 🇮🇱🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DBiJI8gDcL

— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) November 8, 2021

Thank you members of Congress and of the @jstreetdotorg delegation, for an inspiring meeting. You are true friends of Israel and partners in promoting the two-states solution@JeremyBenAmi @rosadelauro @RepBarbaraLee @repmarkpocan @JamaalBowmanNY @MelanieforNM @RepMondaire pic.twitter.com/mbcwQxEfFo

— 🟣 Esawi Frej عيساوي فريج עיסאווי פריג (@EsawiFr) November 8, 2021

During their five-day trip, the delegation members are also meeting Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh and other Palestinian leaders and will “examine the impact of the Israeli settlement movement and de facto annexation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”

The delegation includes House Appropriations Committee chairwoman Rep. Rosa Delauro (D-CT), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Marc Pocan (D-WI), Mondair Jones (D-NY), and Melanie Stansbury (D-NM).

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)