LBK resident meets Israeli prime minister

A Longboat Key resident recently met with the most powerful man in Israeli government: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Retired U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Steve Branham, and his wife, Susan Phillips, traveled with 11 other retired military retirees and their spouses to Israel for eight days on a trip with the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA).

JINSA is a nonprofit think tank focusing on national security issues of the U.S. and Israel. Every year, the group takes a dozen American military retirees and their spouses to tour Israel and meet with their counterparts and government officials to build bridges between the countries.

Branham and others in the group discussed U.S.-Israel relations, Netanyahu’s chief security concerns, issues with Hamas and the security of the Israeli and American people with the prime minister.

Spouses weren’t allowed to attend the meeting between retired military officers and Israeli officials.

However, Phillips and other spouses were along for every other facet of the trip. They visited historic sites such as the Dead Sea, the old city of Jerusalem and the place believed to be where Jesus Christ was crucified.

“The trip was unbelievable and very educational,” Branham said. “It gave us a better understanding of world relations and what it’s like to be an Israeli.”

Branham said that while traveling in Israel their group was at a security risk, but he said the group never felt in danger. Private security guards and tour guides accompanied them.

“We did go into harm’s way once while traveling; we had to take extra precautions when our group got as close to the Gaza Strip as we possibly could,” Branham said.

Branham entered the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1973 and was assigned to his first ship for a two-year tour four years later. He served six tours of duty with the Coast Guard, totaling six years of sea service in the Pacific, Atlantic and Caribbean.