House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced on June 16 that due to the war between Israel and Iran, he has postponed his trip to the Jewish state, where he was scheduled to address the Knesset, the country’s parliament, on June 22.
In a statement, Johnson said he made this decision in conjunction with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.
“Due to the complex situation currently unfolding in Iran and Israel, Speaker Ohana and I have made the decision to postpone the special session of the Knesset. We look forward to rescheduling the address in the near future and send our prayers to the people of Israel and the Middle East,” he said.
“It will be one of the highest honors of my life to address the Israeli Knesset at this fateful moment,” he said in a statement. “Our ties run deeper than military partnerships and trade agreements. We’re bound by the same beliefs, the same psalms, and the same sacred pursuit of liberty.”
Ohana said in a statement that Johnson “is a great friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”
“From the moment he was elected, he not only expressed his support through words but also took decisive action, even at the risk of his position, to support Israel in its most challenging moments. I hold him in great esteem, believe he is highly deserving of addressing the Knesset, and look forward to hosting him and hearing his words to the nation,” Ohana said.
The last U.S. speaker to address the Knesset was former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in 2023. Former Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was the first in 1998.
Israel has launched strikes on Iran since June 12, targeting the country’s nuclear, ballistic missile, and other infrastructure. Iran has retaliated by launching missiles into Israel, hitting population centers such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Israel has taken out senior members of Iran’s military. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not ruled out eliminating Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We’ve had half a century of conflict spread by this regime that terrorizes everyone in the Middle East; has bombed the Aramco oil fields in Saudi Arabia; is spreading terrorism and subversion and sabotage everywhere,” Netanyahu also said.
“The ‘forever war’ is what Iran wants, and they’re bringing us to the brink of nuclear war. In fact, what Israel is doing is preventing this, bringing an end to this aggression, and we can only do so by standing up to the forces of evil.”
