(FRANKFORT, Ky.) — Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman returned Friday from a week-long mission to Israel, where he joined fellow Republican attorneys general to strengthen ties with the U.S. ally and address rising antisemitism.
The delegation held high-level meetings with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, members of the Knesset, and Israeli Defense Force officials during their visit. Discussions covered Israel’s expanding technology sector and international efforts to combat antisemitism.
The attorneys general also visited sites affected by the October 7 Hamas attacks, including the Nova Festival location and Kibbutz Nir Oz, where they met with survivors. The American delegation met with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee during their trip.
“We saw with our own eyes what should have been a vibrant community with kids on playgrounds and crops being harvested, but in its place, a site of devastation and inhuman savagery,” Coleman said in a statement Wednesday.
Coleman referenced what he described as President Trump’s peace agreement, which he said saved remaining hostages and created a framework for regional peace. He emphasized Israel’s role as a U.S. partner as the nation recovers from the attacks.
The attorney general also addressed concerns about antisemitism in the United States, particularly on college campuses.
“Sadly, we see antisemitism rear its ugly head back in the United States, with many of our college campuses ground zero for this toxicity,” Coleman said. “On behalf of Jewish Kentuckians and our entire Commonwealth, we must combat this hatred and the violence it begets.”
The mission aimed to promote security cooperation, economic development opportunities, and coordinated responses to antisemitism between Kentucky and Israel.
