RAMALLAH, August 15 (JMCC) - Eighty-one United States congressmen are slated to visit Israel during the coming weeks, with the first group arriving on Monday.
The
Jerusalem Post reports that the junket, sponsored by the right-wing pro-Israel lobby, will also bring the lawmakers to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas.
The Democratic delegation will be followed by two Republican ones, bringing a total of 55 Republicans.
Most of the representatives are freshmen congressmen, with 47 – or fully half of the freshmen Republicans voted into office in 2010 – making the trip.
For many of them, this will be their first trip to Israel.
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-Maryland) will head the Democratic delegation, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) will lead one of the Republican groups.