40 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2019 

Congresswoman Haley Stevens talks 
about the impact the trip made on her.

JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jews in the D

continued on page 42

First Time to Israel

P

henomenal.” That’
s 
what Congresswoman 
Haley Stevens, 
D-Mich., says of her first 
trip to Israel. She was one 
of 41 Democratic members 
of Congress, led by Majority 
Leader Steny Hoyer earlier 
in August on an AIPAC-
sponsored trip to the Jewish 
state. Stevens’
 mother, Maria 
Marcotte of Birmingham, 
accompanied her on the trip.
Stevens, who represents 
Michigan’
s 11th District, 
said the trip was jam-packed 
and included stops in 
Jerusalem, Golan Heights, 
Ramallah and the Lebanon 
border. A memorable 
moment was when she and 
her mom put notes in the 
Western Wall. “I used every 
minute there,” Stevens said. 
“I’
d heard so much about 
this amazing and beautiful 
country. It was such a rich 

experience.”
Stevens said she was most 
surprised by the close con-
nections of so many diverse 
populations in Israel.“It’
s a 
meeting place and a meeting 
of the minds. It reminded 
me of being in summer 
camp,” said Stevens, who ran 
into fellow Bloomfield Hills 
resident Bluma Schechter in 
the hotel elevator and chat-
ted for a while.
“I saw firsthand how 
Israel’
s geography impacts 
strategic and national secu-
rity decisions that get made. 
I saw the terror tunnels, 
which reaffirmed for me the 
severity of Israel’
s situation 
in terms of national securi-
ty,” she said. 
While there, Stevens met 
with Israeli Prime Minister 
Benjamin Netanyahu as well 
as opposition leader Benny 
Gantz. “I got to spend a 

The Democratic 
delegation poses 
for a group shot. 

Jews in the D

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