By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
During the August recess, US Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Montrose) is spending time in Israel. On Tuesday, Congressman Byrne visited Jerusalem, the ancient Hebrew capital, where Jesus Christ taught, worshiped, and was ultimately crucified; as it states in the Bible.
Congressman Byrne said in a statement on Facebook:
“I am currently traveling in Israel to strengthen the partnership between our two countries. I enjoyed having lunch today with a young member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The young man was 21 and a native Israeli. He just finished his second of three years of required service. The IDF does great work to keep our friends in Israel safe despite a wide array of threats.
Earlier today I took the opportunity to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The walls of the Old City were built by Suleiman I, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire. Suleiman’s walls were built partially on the remains of ancient walls built to defend the city in biblical times. I prayed for the safety of our allies in Israel as well for all the men and women serving our country in harms way.”
Rep. Byrne continued, “We paid a visit to Gilo today, which is a southern Jerusalem ring neighborhood, that was the artillery position for Jordan during the 1967 Six Day War. The location we visited had a great view looking south from Jerusalem into Bethlehem.”
The conservative Alabama Congressman said, “I enjoyed meeting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin during my travels in Israel today. While most of the actual governing in Israel is left up to the Prime Minister, the President is a ceremonial figure who serves a seven year term. I expressed my steadfast support for Israel as our strongest ally in the Middle East.”
Rep. Byrne said, “I had a very informative visit to a mobile Iron Dome launcher today. I appreciate the young Israel Defense Forces (IDF) lieutenant for the briefing. The Israelis developed the Iron Dome with our financial and technical support. The Iron Dome is what kept the missiles out of Israel from Gaza last summer.”
Byrne and the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu share concerns that that Iranian nuclear weapons agreement takes down the economic sanctions against Iran, without doing enough to prevent Iran form getting the bomb.
Congressman Bradley Byrne represents Alabama’s First Congressional District.
