PM Bennett: Anti-Israel group in House failed in Iron Dome vote

The anti-Israel minority in Congress failed to reduce support for Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport ahead of his trip to the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday night. 

Bennett called the vote in the US House of Representatives on Thursday to provide $1bn. to replenish batteries for the Iron Dome missile defense system, with 420 in favor and nine opposed, an “important moment.”

“We saw that in the moment of truth, the representatives of the American People overwhelmingly supported Israel,” he said. 

In reference to the left-wing “squad” of members of Congress, which led to the postponement of the Iron Dome vote earlier last week, Bennett added: “There’s a small anti-Israel group that makes a lot of noise, but those guys failed.”

At the UN, Bennett said that he would “bring the voice of Israelis.”

“This is an opportunity to tell our story…of Israel’s special spirit and our contribution to the world,” he stated. 

Bennett said Israel does not define itself by others’ standards, and not by the Palestinians or Iran. 

“I suggest that their leaders deal with their people and improving their lives and stop their obsession with Israel,” he said. 

Bennett plans to hold his first meeting with senior ministers from Abraham Accords signatory counties, during his three-day visit to New York, where he will address the UNGA.

Bennett is scheduled to land in the United States early Sunday morning and will meet with Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani and United Arab Emirates Minister of State in the Foreign Ministry Khalifa Shaheen Almarar that evening. These follow meetings he has already held with Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The prime minister is also expected to meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. He will also speak at a Jewish Federations of North…