President Barack Obama. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

MK Avi Wurtzman (Jewish Home) and Tzipi Hotoveli (Likud-Beiteinu) wrote to U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday to urge him to reconsider addressing the Knesset during his trip to Israel later this month.

“We regret your decision. The Knesset represents Israeli society, including Jews, Muslims, Druze and Christians. Many world leaders have visited the  Knesset to address the Nation of Zion in its eternal capital Jerusalem. Mr. President, we request you reconsider, and make your historic address in the Israeli House of Representatives.”

Wednesday it was reported that Obama would skip a planned speech at the Knesset, instead opting for a more  “politically neutral” venue in Jerusalem. Israel Foreign Ministry officials told the Israel daily Maariv that another reason may be that White House officials are trying to avoid any embarrassing incidents, such as an interruption during the speech by  right-wing politicians, from taking place.