Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, during a trip to Washington this week, met with Democratic senators who recently voted to restrict arms sales to Israel in an effort to change their minds on the issue.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the centrist former prime minister said his goal was to “convince them that they were wrong, to present them with the facts on the ground.”

Lapid traveled to the US capital at the same time as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ostensibly to attend the memorial service of late Republican pro-Israel senator Lindsey Graham.

But he appeared to use his trip to lobby on his country’s behalf to a Democratic Party that has largely soured on Israel. The trip also gave Lapid an opportunity to showcase his diplomatic chops ahead of Israel’s election, in which he is part of the bloc running to unseat Netanyahu.

The meeting came some months after an April vote in which 40 out of 47 Senate Democrats voted to prevent the sale of military equipment to Israel. Another measure to block the sale of bombs garnered 36 Democratic votes. While the Senate as a whole voted against both measures, the votes reflected a substantive decline in the party’s support for Israel.

According to Lapid’s office, the meeting was organized by Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, a pro-Israel stalwart, who was one of the seven Democratic senators to oppose both measures.

They were joined in the meeting by senators Tim Kaine (Virginia),........

© The Times of Israel