Will Trump Be First Sitting President To Visit Western Wall?
President Trump speaking at Days of Remembrance ceremony April 25, 2017 Image by Getty Images
By Aiden Pink May 15, 2017
While President Trump’s official itinerary for his visit to Israel later this month has yet to be released, Israeli media has reported that Trump is likely to visit the Western Wall, making him the first sitting president to do so.
Trump will be in Israel May 22-23, shortly before the 50th anniversary of Israel’s capture of the Western Wall and the rest of Jerusalem’s Old City during the Six Day War. The United States, along with most other countries, does not recognize Israel’s claim over the Old City and eastern Jerusalem.
The president’s Western Wall excursion, should it occur, would be “an innovation,” Shlomo Slonim, professor emeritus of American history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told the Times of Israel.
While Trump would be the first sitting president to visit the holy site, his four predecessors ventured there before or after their terms.
Trump will deliver a speech at the ancient desert fortress Masada. However, it’s unclear if he will visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum..
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
