JERUSALEM (JTA) — The first Jewish commander of the U.S. Air Force completed a four-day visit to Israel.
Gen. Norton Schwartz, the chief of staff of the Air Force, toured the country and visited with the Israel Defense Forces from Sunday to Wednesday as a guest of the Israel Air Forces’ commander, Maj. Gen. Ido Nechushtan.
Norton met with the IDF chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, to discuss the cooperation between the two armies and to update each other on regional and strategic issues. It was Schwartz’s first visit to Israel since assuming his position in June 2008.
Schwartz toured Air Force bases and spoke with the senior Israeli command and pilots. He flew over the security fence, the West Bank and Jerusalem as Nechushtan explained the security realities of the region and demonstrated its security challenges, according to an IDF spokesman.
Schwartz also visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.
