a joint session of congress. it comes at a time of tension between presidentjoe biden and the israeli government. one point of contention a controversialjudicial reform plan that has led to several months of protests in israel. mr biden also recently called israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu s government the most extreme in decades. despite that, in his speech, president herzog affirmed the us israeli relationship. israel and the united states will inevitably disagree on many matters. but we will always remain family. our evolutionary societies have so much to give to the world and so much to learn from each other. our bond may be challenged at times, but it is absolutely unbreakable. i spoke with our correspondent helena humphrey. she was covering the speech on capitol hill. tell us more about how the israeli president was received. significant applause as he walked into the chamber,
important allies in the world. i was there in support with the majority i was there in support with the majority of my colleagues, so i ust majority of my colleagues, so i just think majority of my colleagues, so i just think that statement, having just think that statement, having a leader of that country come having a leader of that country come to having a leader of that country come to the chambers of the us house. come to the chambers of the us house. to come to the chambers of the us house, to speak to a joint session. house, to speak to a joint session, that s very meaningful. it sends a message to the meaningful. it sends a message to the world, that we stand by our allies. to the world, that we stand by ourallies, especially this ally ourallies, especially this ally in ourallies, especially this ally in the middle east, the only ally in the middle east, the only democracy. it s so important that we protect that, so shame important that we protect that, s
subsequently walking those comments back to a certain extent. but certainly the feeling here from those who did attend was about continuing to show support for israel, while also leaving room, leaving the door open for criticism of a partner. i spoke to a representative for the republican party. thank you so much forjoining us on the bbc. i understand you were at that address from the israeli president isaac herzog. your thoughts on his speech. i thoughts on his speech. i thought it was a great speech, it solidified the relationship the us it solidified the relationship the us has with israel, a long standing relationship. we were long standing relationship. we were the long standing relationship. we were the first country to acknowledge israel after it was created acknowledge israel after it was created 75 years ago. so i think created 75 years ago. so i think the created 75 years ago. so i think the president said it best think the president said it best when he said israe
the unofficial galaxies exhibition. the exhibition features rare sci fi artefacts. that is actually a star wars script. signed by david prowse, the original darth vader. that was in his hands when he was shooting the movie as darth vader. i think that is one of the most interesting, actually. but the venue is the real star. the cathedral is huge. the set up is quite a challenge, because you walk three minutes from one end to the other because the cathedral is enormous. invasion of the city complete. inviting us to take a look at the dark side. you re watching bbc news. israeli president isaac herzog wrapped up a two day visit to washington with an address to
live from washington. this is bbc news. a shooting in auckland leaves two dead and several injured just hours before the world cup is set to begin. rising temperatures spark growing concerns for how the global heatwave is impacting wildlife. and israeli president isaac herzog highlights israel and the us s true friendship during a joint meeting of congress. hello, i m sumi somaskanda. we start the show with a rare act of gun violence in new zealand just hours before one of the biggest sporting events in the world the women s world cup. police say a gunman shot and killed two people and injured six others in auckland s central business district, the suspect was also killed.