Netanyahu, Boehner Meet 'Where States are Imploding and Fanaticism Is Exploding'

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the halls of Congress last month despite the firestorm of White House objections, and today Netanyahu welcomed Boehner to Jerusalem.

“Your visit is an opportunity for me to thank you and your colleagues from both Houses of Congress and from both sides of the aisle for the warm welcome you gave me in the U.S. Capitol. And today it’s my great pleasure to welcome you and your delegation to Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel and the capital of the Jewish people for three thousand years,” Netanyahu said at the start of their meeting.

Bibi said the U.S.-Israel bond is more important than ever as the Middle East is “plagued by anti-Western, anti-democratic and anti-American extremism.”

“Terrorists brutally behead their shackled captives before video cameras. Despots lead their people in chants of ‘death to America’ while building intercontinental ballistic missiles to reach America,” he added in a nod to ISIS and Iran.

“In this violent and unstable region, where states are imploding and fanaticism is exploding, one thing remains rock solid: Our friendship, our alliance, our partnership. It makes both our countries stronger. It makes both our countries safer. And it’s the anchor for our shared hopes for peace and stability in this region.”

Netanyahu also quipped that, as one of 12 children, Boehner “came to the right place: We are the descendants of the twelve children of Jacob, also known as Israel.”

Boehner has spent five days since Congress recessed for spring break traveling through the Middle East, meeting with U.S. allies.

“And regardless of where in the Middle East we’ve been, the message has been the same. You can’t continue to turn your eye away from the threats that face all of us,” Boehner said. “And as you said, the bonds between the United States and Israel are as strong as ever. Our two countries cooperate on many different levels. And while we may have political disagreements from time to time, the bonds between our two nations are strong and they’re going to continue to be strong.”

“It’s been an historic trip, and frankly it’s an historic opportunity to be here in Israel at this time.”

In Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Boehner sat down with the Interior and Defense ministers to express “our appreciation and full support for the campaign the Saudis are leading to defeat the Houthis in Yemen.”

“Looking at the trends of instability and violence in the region, we also discussed the need for an overarching strategy to defeat the terrorist threat,” Boehner said in a statement on the meeting.

In Iraq on Monday, Boehner sat down with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to discuss how the U.S. “must carefully manage the mission to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL to ensure it does not come at the expense of ceding Iraq’s strategic independence to Iran, which does not seek to keep the country whole.”

In Jordan on Sunday, Boehner met with King Abdullah and Queen Rania. “We share the belief that defeating ISIL and stopping the spread of the terrorist threat will require a comprehensive approach,” Boehner said.

Joining Boehner in the delegation are Reps. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Education & the Workforce Committee and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East & North Africa and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, & Human Services, and a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water, Martha Roby (R-Ala.), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction & Veterans Affairs, and George Holding (R-N.C.), a member of the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Oversight.