Pool Reports of July 18, 2023

White House Pool Report No. 1 - brunch lid until 1 p.m.

Good morning, I'll be your in-town pooler on this steamy July day.

We have a brunch lid until 1 p.m.

White House Pool Report No. 2 - gathering for spray

Good afternoon! Pool is gathering for the spray with Israeli President Herzog. We won't catch the arrival as it's happening outside momentarily.

White House Pool Report No. 3 - spray

Pool was brought into the Oval at 1:20 p.m. We left at 1:26 p.m. Reporters shouted a number of questions at him at the end. He was asked if he was worried about the soldier in North Korea. He appeared to mouth yes.

Here are some quotes from the intro:

"Welcome back - pleasure to have you here," Biden said. He noted the "75 years" of Israel's existence, giving a fist bump and calling the relationship "simply unbreakable."

Herzog said he brought "Greetings and gratitude" form "all sides of the political spectrum."

Herzog spoke of the "Internal Israeli situation" said his

"heart and soul" were back home.

Spoke of the "Heated debate we are going through as a society."

"We are going through pains," he added.

More TK

White House Pool Report No. 4 - clarification

After talking to other members of the pool, it's unclear if the president heard the question re: the U.S. soldier in North Korea and what he mouthed.

White House Pool Report No. 5 - 2 minutes until briefing

Two minute warning!

White House Pool Report No. 6 - briefing concludes

The press briefing kicked off at 1:57 p.m.

It wrapped at 2:40 p.m.

Just an FYI: President Herzog spoke to reporters at the sticks while the briefing was ongoing.

White House Pool Report No. 7 - travel/photo lid

The White House called a travel/photo lid at 3:40 p.m.

Have a wonderful night!

Foreign pool report #1 - Background

Hello,

I will be your foreign pooler for Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to the White House.

The bilateral with POTUS is scheduled for 1:15pm.

Previous meetings:

The 2 presidents have met twice in the past year.

Their first official meeting was just about a year ago (July 14 2022) in Jerusalem and President Herzog awarded President Biden the Israeli Medal of Honour.

Herzog then made his first official visit to the US a few months later, meeting with POTUS at the White House in October 2022.

POTUS still hasn't met with PM Benjamin Netanyahu, but the WH confirmed yesterday that an invitation had been extended to the Israeli PM and that the 2 men will meet before the end of the year, though the location and date have yet to be decided.

Agenda:

US/Israel ties:

According to a statement from the Israeli presidency, the trip is meant "to strengthen the relations and the partnership between the US and Israel and to reflect the deep ties between the countries, which are placed above all controversy."

Iran/regional security:

President Herzog said: "I will emphasize the importance of expanding the circle of regional peace and stress the essential need to fight against the hatred and terrorism that Iran is spreading while it pursues nuclear weapons."

Judicial reforms:

While the Israeli side isn't directly mentioning the topic of controversial judicial reforms pushed by the Netanyahu government, Herzog did say that, in all of his meetings in the US, he will talk about the "internal challenges and opportunities facing Israeli society." Herzog has been seen as a sort of mediator within Israel over the issue of judicial overhaul, which the WH has made clear would be a topic of discussion.

Other issues likely to come up during the conversation include settlements and the war in Ukraine.

Schedule:

Herzog arrived in Washington on Tuesday.

Later this afternoon, he'll meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken (4:30pm).

On Wednesday, Herzog will deliver his address to a joint meeting of Congress (11am) to mark the 75th anniversary of the state of Israel. He will be the second Israeli president to do so, after his father, Chaim Herzog, in 1987.

In the afternoon, he will sit down with VP Harris. According to a statement from his office "The meeting will deal with the promotion of joint initiatives in the field of efforts and technologies to mitigate the impact of climate change."

On Thursday, he will travel to NY to meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Biography:

Isaac "Bougie" Herzog is 62 years old.

He's been serving as the 11th president of Israel since july 2021. He is the 1st president to be born in Israel after its declaration of Independence.

He is the son of former Israeli president Chaim Herzog. His brother is currently serving as the Israeli ambassador to the US.

Isaac Herzog was a member of the Israeli government, the Knesset, from 2003 to 2018 and held several ministerial posts from 2005 to 2011. From 2013 to 2018, he was the leader of the opposition. As leader of the Labor Party, he was candidate for Prime Minister in the 2015 parliamentary election, but his coalition lost to Benjamin Netanyahu.

Herzog went to high school in the US while his father was Israel's ambassador to the UN.

Foreign pool report 2

Pool is gathered in the briefing room for the bilat.

Your pooler just got confirmation from the Israeli side that President Herzog will speak at the sticks after his meeting with POTUS.

Foreign pool report #3

Israeli President Herzog arrived at the White House at 1:11pm.

Pool is holding.

Foreign pool report #4

A very large pool was brought into the oval at 1:19pm

The 2 leaders spoke for a couple of minutes each.

Isaac Herzog quotes:

"I bring a message of greeting and gratitude from the people of Isarel, the entire country of Israel, from all sides of the political spectrum."

"I was pleased to hear about your conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu which focused on our ironclad military cooperation because there are some enemies of ours that sometimes mistaken the fact that we may have some differences as impacting our unbreakable bond."

"My heart and soul is also in Israel in the heated debate which we are going through as a society. It's a heated debate but it is also a virtue and a tribute to the greatness of Israeli democracy. Let me reiterate, clear, crystal clear, that Israeli democracy is sound strong and resilient. We are going though pains, heated debates, we're going through challenging moments but I truly believe (...) we should always seek to find amicable consensus."

There were multiple questions shouted about the US soldier in North Korea. Also one on whether POTUS would invite Netanyahu to the White House but the shouting made the questions mostly inaudible and it's unclear whether the President tried to mouth answers to them.

This was the loudest oval office meeting your pooler has been to.

There was a lot of shouting and also some selfie taking that made it hard to work.

As a reminder, the Israeli President will be at the sticks after the bilat.

Foreign pool report #5

Israeli official tells your pooler that Isaac Herzog is coming out to the sticks now.

Foreign pool report #6

Herzog spoke at the sticks earlier, first in Hebrew, then in English. He did not take questions.

Here are some quotes from what he said in English.

He said he had a "wonderful meeting" with POTUS, whom he called a "huge friend of Israel."

He said they discussed "many issues" during the meeting including the "iranian nuclear threat"

"naturally we also discussed the internal issues in Israel"

"We should see the current debate in Israel with all its facets as a tribute to the strength of the Israeli democracy"

Foreign pool note #7

The White House called a lid at 2:41pm but the President's day isn't over.

He is set to meet with Cardinal Zuppi at 5pm.

The Cardinal is Pope Francis' special envoy. He was appointed in June with the mission of seeking a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.

The cardinal met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv in early June. He also went to Moscow end of june, where he met with Russian officials and Patriarch Kirill.

Have a great rest of your day!