Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will travel to Israel later this month and address the Knesset, the country’s lawmaking body, as the top lawmaker condemns the spate of antisemitic attacks that have taken place in the U.S.
The speech — set to take place on June 22 — will make Johnson the third Speaker of the House in history to address the Israeli parliament: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was the first in 1998, followed by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in 2023.
“It will be one of the highest honors of my life to address the Israeli Knesset at this fateful moment,” Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday. “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.”
Johnson is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his trip, though the details are not yet confirmed.
The speech comes more than a year and a half into Israel’s war with Hamas, which began in October 2023 when the U.S.-designated terrorist organization launched an attack on Israel. The conflict has led to the death of hundreds of Israelis and tens of thousands of Palestinians.
The address is also taking place amid a string of antisemitic attacks in the U.S., which Johnson has strongly condemned. Most recently, he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) held a vigil on the Capitol steps to honor the Israeli embassy staffers who were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
“Today, the State of Israel and Jewish people around the world face grave threats, and it is our moral imperative to stand by our sister democracy,” Johnson said in his statement on Wednesday. “As terror and vile antisemitic ideology threaten Western Civilization, Israel must know that when America said, ‘Never Again,’ we meant it.”
The U.S.-Israeli relationship has been a key theme throughout Johnson’s tenure as Speaker. The Louisiana Republican was elected to the top job weeks after Hamas attacked Israel, he oversaw the approval of billions of dollars in aid for Tel Aviv — after first trying to pair the funding with cuts to the IRS, which drew criticism — and he invited Netanyahu to the Capitol to deliver remarks to a joint session of Congress, which Johnson presided over.
Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana called Johnson “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,” Ohana added in a statement. “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.”