GOP congressman: I felt safer in Israel than I would in parts of NYC

Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Republican from Georgia, was recently part of a Congressional delegation that traveled to the Middle East on an 11-day trip.

Ha’aretz

Congressman Barry Loudermilk said that he felt safer during his recent trip to Israel that he would have felt “in certain parts of New York City or Chicago.”

According to a Buzzfeed report, the Republican from Georgia was part of a Congressional delegation that traveled to Israel and other Middle Eastern states on a 11-day trip to discuss the region’s security situation.

“The whole time we were there, of course, we had security with us, but there was no restrictions on travel, we never felt threatened one bit — unless you’re threatened by the merchants in the Old City trying to get you to come in their shops,” Loudermilk reportedly told Washington Watch, the radio show of the conservative Family Research Council.

“In fact, I can say that we felt safer in Israel than we would in certain parts of New York City or Chicago,” Loudermilk said.

“Yeah — or Baltimore, I would think, as well,” host Tony Perkins added, which a laughing Loudermilk affirmed.

Loudermilk is the latest Republican to laud Israel after visiting. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker recently said a recent trip to Israel reminded him of post-September 11 America, claiming that the daily lives of Israelis resemble American life in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

“Remember for a moment how many of us—the young people don’t remember this probably so well—but those of us as adults remember what we felt like on the day after Sept. 11,” the Wisconsin governor said. “That’s how they feel almost every day. That’s what they feel like because of what they’re dealing with.”