Israelis Say Pence’s Trip To Israel ‘Not On Our Schedule’
Mike Pence in October 2017. Image by Getty
By Ari Feldman January 2, 2018
Israeli officials are saying that Vice President Mike Pence has indefinitely postponed a planned January trip to Israel, the Times of Israel reported. But Pence’s office is saying that the trip has simply not been scheduled.
On Monday, Israel published a list of foreign governmental leaders visiting the country during January. Pence’s name was not on the list. Israeli officials cited “various scheduling difficulties” when asked about Pence’s status.
Later that day, Pence’s deputy chief of staff refuted the Israeli government’s account.
“As we said, we are going later this month,” Jarrod Agen told reporters. Agen added that Pence would visit Egypt on that trip.
When Pence cancelled his planned December visit to Israel, the official reason given was that Pence was staying in Washington, D.C., to help whip up congressional support for the tax bill. But the decision also came after Christian and Muslim leaders in Jerusalem pulled out of planned meetings with Pence in protest of President Donald Trump’s decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit India in the middle of January. Pence’s office did not offer any specific dates for the visit.
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
