BY JIBRIL TURE

A delegation of twelve U.S. lawmakers led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), has concluded a weeklong visit to Ghana, West Africa and Israel. At the end of his first foreign trip as Minority Leader, Jeffries sounded up-beat about the trip, as a contributing factor to U.S. relations with both nations.

The highlights of the Israel portion of the trip included what the Minority Leader described as “a meaningful and moving visit where we reaffirmed our strong commitment to a safe, secure and prosperous Israel on the eve of the 75th anniversary of its founding.”

The delegation conducted a day of “substantive meetings” with President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid. The lawmakers reaffirmed U.S. commitment to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear nation, and the prospects of lasting peace with the Palestinians, a two-state solution, continued security cooperation and opportunities to build on the Abraham Accords.

They also had a roundtable discussion, which they deemed “productive,” with several young Palestinian entrepreneurs, innovators, as well as nonprofit leaders, on way them “can improve the quality of life and economic development opportunities for the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza.”

The new Minority Leader summarized the visit to Israel in these words:
“The United States and Israel have a special relationship anchored in our shared values and shared strategic interests. Through this congressional delegation visit, we once again reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel as a thriving Jewish and Democratic state.”

The highlights of the delegation’s visit to Ghana include an audience with the president of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo, with the U.S. Ambassador to the country, Stephanie Sullivan, in attendance, and with Paramount Chief Osabarima Kwesi Atta II. The U.S. lawmakers also visited Elmina castle erected by the Portuguese in 1482—the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea and the oldest European building in existence south of the Sahara—also notorious for the slave trade.

An important highlight of the delegation’s visit to Ghana, which has shockingly received no coverage in the press, was the visit to the W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Center established in Accra in the memory of the legendary scholar, Pan-Africanist, and iconic civil rights leader by the government of Ghana in the 1960s. As testament to the power of history, the center, where Du Bois’ remains lie, now serves as the headquarters of the Diaspora African Forum, an African Union-endorsed non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the Pan-African organization in the representation of the African Diaspora and their strategic involvement in the ongoing development of Africa.

Ambassador Erieka Bennett,  founder and head of mission of DAF, hosted the delegation in an atmosphere of family reunion, which included a gift of made-in-Ghana chocolate with the picture of congressman Hakeem Jeffries’ picture on it. A die-hard bridge-builder between Africa and the United States for decades, Bennett has been involved in Africa for decades.