Israeli Prime Minister to Travel to Washington D.C., California
PM Olmert to Meet with Bush, Congressional Leaders about Iran

Nov. 9, 2006

 Washington, D.C. - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will arrive in Washington, D.C. Sunday, Nov. 12, in preparation for meetings with the U.S. President and Congressional leaders to discuss the Iranian nuclear threat and other key issues facing the Middle East and the rest of the world.

 The prime minister's official meetings Monday, Nov. 13 will also provide an opportunity to review several pressing issues following Israel's defensive war this past summer against Iranian-backed Hezbollah, as well as the need to stabilize the situation with the Palestinians. Olmert will also travel to Los Angeles, where he will address the United Jewish Communities' 75th annual General Assembly Nov. 14. Also at the conference, The Israel Project’s Jerusalem office Director Calev Ben-David, will discuss the Israel-Hezbollah conflict along with Israeli Amb. Aviv Shir-On, deputy director general for media and public affairs; Rafael Harpaz, minister counselor of public affairs at the Embassy of Israel; and The Israel Project’s Chairman Michael C. Gelman. The event is scheduled for Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Los Angeles’ Westin Bonaventure Hotel.  

 According to a White House statement, "The President looks forward to discussing with the Prime Minister the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Israel, as well as a wide range of regional and international issues."

Olmert's trip comes as the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to move forward with its nuclear program. Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," has said the country should be relocated to Alaska and that the Holocaust was a "myth." Iran is currently in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1696, which requires that Iran halt its uranium enrichment activities. It is the only nation in the world that has called for the complete annihilation of another country.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has an international trail of terror that ranges from backing groups that killed U.S. Marines and financing Hezbollah and other radical groups to training youth for suicide attacks across the globe.

Iran has allowed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors only limited access to its nuclear development facilities and refused to reveal the extent of its nuclear enrichment program. Nevertheless, Ahmadinejad recently told the U.N. General Assembly, "All our nuclear activities are transparent, peaceful and under the watchful eyes of IAEA inspectors."

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran has made its own decision and in the nuclear case, God-willing, with patience and power, will continue its path." [1]     

In addition to the defensive war in the north, Israel also has been working to defend itself against increased rocket attacks against civilians in Israel by Hamas-backed Palestinian terrorists in Gaza. Iran provides financial and military backing to Hamas. The attacks against Israeli civilians have forced Israel to carry out military operations in an effort to short-circuit the strikes, which have been almost constant since Israel evacuated all of its citizens and military from the Gaza Strip in August 2005. Israel handed over control of Gaza to the Palestinians in hopes they would use the opportunity to create an independent state that would thrive side-by-side in peace next to Israel.

Additionally, the Israel Defense Forces recently uncovered dozens of tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border that terrorist groups linked to Fatah, Hamas and the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad have used to smuggle weapons. Last month, Hamas publicly acknowledged taking part in creating the tunnels. "The Qassam fighters are working on top of and under the ground… Their guns are pointed and will remain directed at the one and only enemy, Israel," according to a Hamas statement mourning the death of a member of its Izz Eddeen al-Qassam Brigades, who died in an accidental explosion in one of the tunnels.

Despite the rocket attacks, smuggling and other violence, Israel has continued to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza's civilian population. 

"Prime Minister Olmert's visit comes at a time when Americans are looking for new solutions to complicated problems in the Middle East," said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, D.C. "Israel, as a democracy and America's strongest ally in the Middle East, is committed to being a constructive part of those solutions."

Footnotes

[1] "Iran to continue pursuing nuclear technology, supreme leader says," Associated Press, published in USA Today, via Associated Press, Aug. 21, 2006, http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-08-21-iran-nukes_x.htm

The Israel Project is an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. It provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel. The Israel Project is not related to any government or government agency.