Paul D. Ryan will meet with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin Thursday in his first meeting with a foreign leader since he was elected speaker.  

Rivlin met with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., at the White House Wednesday afternoon and attended a White House Hanukkah party where he lit the candles on a menorah.  

“This gives us an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bonds between our two countries and our two peoples,” Obama said before the afternoon meeting with Rivlin, the Israeli president’s first visit to the Oval Office.  

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“We consider our commitment to Israel’s security to be one of the most important principles of American foreign policy,” Obama added.  “It’s one that is shared by Democrats and Republicans alike.”  

Ryan is to meet with Rivlin at noon Thursday in the speaker’s ceremonial office.

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