The congressman from the 8th District of New York Hakeem Jeffries in the delegation of Congress recently visited Israel. The task of the delegation was to determine the current problems in the Middle East ally, the United States and, above all, support the next peace talks with the Palestinians.

I have been in Israel for the second time and, above all, I want to report on his visit to the Russian-speaking voters, for which the situation in Israel, its safety and well-being is not just important for them is both national and community and family care. Once again, I admired the amazing achievements of this country, friendliness and optimism of its citizens, despite the fact that each new day for more than 65 years, they are forced to either deter or repel threats on all its borders.

The delegation consisted of 30 members of Congress was the Democratic Party, recently elected.Consensus of the delegation consisted in the fact that the U.S. has no more important ally than the state of Israel. This friendship is not only of strategic objectives, it is also based on the fact that both countries are based on democratic principles.

The Congress delegation in Israel had numerous meetings with the leaders of the country’s Netanyahu and Peres, Knesset members, military commanders. Most of the time the delegation held in Jerusalem, visited Gaza district, visited the northern border with Lebanon, Syria, visited Ramallah and met with leaders of the Palestinian group negotiating with Israel, Bethlehem and Galilee. A few hours delegation stayed at Yad Vashem. Beyond the question of negotiations with the Palestinians, we also talked a lot about the problems of emigration from Eastern Europe, the important role it has played in the economic, scientific and political life of the country. I was very proud to represent one of the largest Russian communities of America.

Hakeem Jeffries then answered questions from journalists. They are mainly related to new talks with representatives of the Palestinian Authority. The congressman said that all efforts should be made to ensure that the dialogue under the influence of certain events did not stop.

Question: If the negotiations with the Palestinians, pluck, could it be a situation that the international community will declare Israel boycott, as his time in South Africa and Rhodesia?

Answer: The United States did not support such a boycott would be.

Q: Among the main problems of negotiations – the return of the Palestinians of East Jerusalem …

A: My position on East Jerusalem corresponds to the position of the Congress, which is generally accepted that Jerusalem – the capital of Israel, even though all of our administration overlooked in pre-election promises to translate this into account, and the U.S. embassy there. Yes, this is one of the central issues in the negotiations. But we must take care that his decision began their final stage, or, of course, the negotiations failed. And we must always remember that until 1967, this part of the city was controlled by Jordan …

I hope you understand what I mean.

• Note: This article was translated from Russian into English by the office of Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. For the original version in Russian, please visit The Russian Reklama: Congressman Jeffries returned from Israel