The United States’ ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is on her first visit to Israel, where she is meeting with government and military officials in a show of the new relationship between Israel and the US. She is the first member of US President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to visit Israel since the formation of a new government under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett/
Thomas-Greenfield on Monday visited the Palmachim Air Force Base, where she inspected the Iron Dome and David’s Sling air defense systems, “which our nations developed together to save the lives of innocent civilians. We will replenish the Iron Dome system and support Israel’s ability to defend itself,” she tweeted.
Thomas-Greenfield met on Monday in Jerusalem with Bennett, telling reporters before the meeting that “President Biden shares Prime Minister Bennett’s commitment to a new spirit of cooperation as we address the full range of regional and global challenges together.”
Bennett responded, saying: There’s such a stark contrast between the reality on the ground here and what one might hear in the corridors of the United Nations. I want to thank you for representing a voice of decency and reason in an institution that I think we can both objectively say is pretty biased in terms of its treatment of Israel. I hope that during your visit here you can get a better picture of the unique challenges that we’re facing here, you know, with Iranian-backed terror groups across our borders.”
Thomas-Greenfield also met on Monday with Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and President Isaac Herzog, as well as Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli.