Speaker of the House John Boehner will travel to Israel to meet with PM Netanyahu. Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner (R-Ohio) will travel to Israel later this month to meet with newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The speaker will visit Israel during the next district work period,” Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said in a statement on Friday. “He looks forward to visiting the country, discussing our shared priorities for peace and security in the region, and further strengthening the bond between the United States and Israel.”

Boehner, who will reportedly lead a Congressional delegation of Republican lawmakers on the Israel visit, recently angered the Obama administration by arranging Netanyahu’s March 3 speech to Congress about Iran. The White House claimed Boehner breached protocol by not consulting with President Barack Obama about inviting Netanyahu. Boehner, along with many Congressional Republicans and some Democrats, have been strongly critical of Obama’s stance on the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 powers.