SALT LAKE CITY— Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, met Thursday in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after both participated in a ceremony marking Holocaust Memorial Day.
Hatch, the Senate president pro tempore, spent nearly an hour with the Israeli leader talking about topics including relations between the United States and Israel, as well as the race for the White House.
They also discussed the affinity between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jews, as well as the role of the BYU Jerusalem Center.
"Bibi and I are longtime friends, just as our nations are steadfast allies," Hatch said in a statement, calling it an honor to have a private meeting with the prime minister, whom he referred to by his nickname.
"We share a deep appreciation of religious faith, a commitment to democracy and free markets, and a courage to stand for right. In an increasingly chaotic and uncertain world, America and Israel must continue to stand together in promoting security and advancing our shared values," he said.
Hatch, a board member of the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., joined Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat at Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the 6 million victims of the Holocaust.
There, Hatch laid a wreath on behalf of the United States to mark Israel's Holocaust Memorial Day. The mid-morning ceremony began with sirens announcing two minutes of silence for Israelis, who came to a standstill for the observance.
Other Israeli leaders Hatch met with included Minister of Education Nafali Bennett and Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the United States.
The seven-term senator's weeklong trip was sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, an affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC, a powerful pro-Israel lobby.
Relations have been strained between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, and Hatch was among senators who signed an AIPAC-backed letter calling for more U.S. aid for Israel's military defense.
Hatch, along with then-House Speaker John Boehner, sat on the dias behind Netanyahu in March 2015 when the prime minister addressed a special joint session of Congress to condemn the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran.
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