55 Republican, 26 Democratic congressmen to arrive for week-long trips sponsored by American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF)1

(Jerusalem Post) – Eighty-one congressmen, or about 20 percent of the US House of Representatives, will visit Israel over the next three weeks during Congress’s summer recess, with the first group of 26 Democrats scheduled to arrive on Monday [August 10].

The Democratic delegation will be followed by two Republican ones, bringing a total of 55 Republicans.

The week-long trips are sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, a charitable organization affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which brings large delegations of congressmen here every other August.

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md) will head the Democratic delegation, and [former] House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va) will lead one of the Republican groups.

Hoyer, in a statement, said:  “he looked forward to returning to Israel to continue learning firsthand about the evolving security situation in the Middle East, the deep challenges facing Israel, and the role the US can play in the region during this time of uncertainty.

I’m pleased members of Congress have this opportunity to study American interests in the Middle East and gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved in increasing stability in the region.”

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In a related development, The Israel Project will be bringing a group of 18 Washington-based ambassadors from Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America to Israel on Monday for a weeklong tour and high-level meetings. Like the congressmen, they will also go to Ramallah, for a meeting with PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Among the countries represented on the trip are Albania, Barbados, Belize, Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Macedonia, St. Lucia and Uganda.

Some of these countries have been mentioned by officials in Jerusalem as likely candidates to either vote against, or at least abstain, when the vote on Palestinian statehood comes before the UN in September.

Obama: Netanyahu’s interference in US affairs unprecedented | CNN Sunday Interview | … plus video clips

WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama told CNN he does not remember a time in which a foreign leader interfered in American politics the way Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been doing in his efforts to thwart the nuclear deal with Tehran.

Obama asserted that “on the substance, the prime minister is wrong on this. I think that the basic assumptions that he’s made are incorrect. If, in fact, my argument is right that this is the best way for Iran not to get a nuclear weapon, then that’s not just good for the United States, that is very good for Israel.”

In another clip from the interview recorded on Thursday, Obama elaborated on his comment that “Iran’s hardliners were making common cause with the Republicans,” saying both share the same “ideological commitment not to get a deal done.”

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On Saturday, 29 American scientists sent a letter to President Obama praising the Iran deal and calling it “innovative” and “stringent,” the New York Times reported.

The two-page letter was signed by some of the world’s top nuclear weapons and arms control, including Nobel laureates, nuclear scientists and former White House science advisers. h/t Stephen Walt

* Mission Statement AIEF
Founded in 1989, The American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF) is an organization established to maintain and further the understanding of the issues affecting relations between the United States and Israel through information and education provided to public and private parties interested in such relations. Programs include educational programs such as policy conferences, internships, campus newsletters and other materials; educational travel programs to Israel; and funding publications of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, [Washington Institute for] Near East Research, and Global Leadership Institute for Public Affairs [Executive Director Stephen J. Schneider].

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