| Notes |
While in Israel, Ellison also traveled to Sderot with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to see how it copes with frequent rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. Visiting the local community center, Ellison was told that it needed $500,000 to be reinforced against rockets. He reportedly responded “You’ll have the money by tomorrow.”
Ellison told the business conference that the thing that excited him the most on his current visit was watching a video of three Israeli Airforce F-15 jets flying over the Auschwitz concentration camp – a flyover he said that will ensure that something like the Holocaust never happens again.
Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos, a Holocaust survivor, accompanied Ellison on his visit. During his visit, Ellison dined with President Shimon Peres, met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, head of the Likud opposition and former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, and met with numerous business and high tech executives.
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