<br /> <p>Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D) of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs sent a letter</a> to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on May 8 criticizing the State Department’s decision to omit mentions of Israel from a video shared by the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia.</p><p>The State Department released two videos which showed President Donald Trump’s May 4 announcement of his first official foreign trip. The more widely-circulated video</a> showed the full announcement, in which Trump says he will visit Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican. However, a version of the video shared on the US Embassy in Riyadh’s YouTube channel</a>, and tweeted</a> by the Embassy, omitted the mention of Israel. Both the video and the tweet have been deleted.</p><p>The two videos were spliced together and shared by House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats on May 8 with the caption: “Can you spot the difference?”</p><p>In his letter to Tillerson, Engel wrote: “At a time when the United States should be encouraging the governments of the region – and their people -<br /> to promote tolerance, respect, and mutual recognition this video implies that the US accepts Saudi Arabia’s public rejectionist position toward Israel." Engel said he was “appalled” by the omission, adding: "The United States has actively fought the Arab boycott and efforts by countries in the region to delegitimize the State of Israel. This video plays into a rejectionist narrative and thus has no place in any social media—or any other form of communication—associated with the United States government.”</p><br />
