President Barack Obama will mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Israeli Embassy in Washington Wednesday as relations between the U.S. and Israel have shown new signs of improvement.
The White House said Obama would honor four people — two Americans and two Poles — who helped protect Jews from the Nazis.
It’s rare for a president to speak at a foreign embassy, and Wednesday’s visit comes after a bumpy several years in the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, which soured amid negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
The relationship hit its nadir when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington to lobby against the Iran deal, an effort that included a speech before a joint meeting of Congress. White House officials angrily rebuked the trip, saying it was a breach of protocol since they weren’t consulted.
The speech was largely orchestrated by Ron Dermer, a former Republican operative who serves as the Israeli ambassador to the United States, and who White House officials privately blamed for fueling the breakdown in relations.
Last week Dermer wrote on Twitter that he deeply appreciated “Obama’s acceptance of our invitation to speak. It will be a worthy tribute to the worthiest among us.”
An Israeli official said Obama’s visit to the embassy was deeply appreciated by Netanyahu’s government, and expressed optimism that it could help repair relations between the two countries.
Secretary of State John Kerry met with Netanyahu last week in Switzerland as sanctions were being lifted on Tehran in exchange for steps curbing its nuclear program. He said that during the meeting the Israeli leader appeared to accept the Iran deal was final.
“I think he recognized that the fight’s over and we can move on,” Kerry said.
A senior administration official said that Israeli president Reuven Rivlin invited Obama to participate in Wednesday’s event when he visited the White House in November. He’ll be introduced by film director Steven Spielberg.
“The President wanted to participate given his strong belief that we must never forget the lessons of the Holocaust and always stand up against anti-Semitism, intolerance and hatred in all of its forms. He is looking forward to being a part of an event that honors those who lived these values,” the official said.
The Americans Obama plans to honor helped shield Jews from slaughter by the Nazis during World War II. Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, from Tennessee, refused to single out Jews while being held at gunpoint by German troops. Lois Gunden, a French teacher from Indiana, founded a children’s home on the French coast that acted as a safe house for Jewish families.
