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By Naomi Zeveloff May 16, 2017

The new U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, prayed for Trump at the Western Wall on his first day in Israel.

In a video posted to Twitter by the U.S. embassy, Friedman said that he came straight to the Western Wall from the airport with his wife and daughter on Monday.

Welcome to US Ambassador to #Israel David Friedman. First stop- a prayer at the #WesternWall pic.twitter.com/FTkzt2uQmA

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— USEmbassyTelAviv (@usembassyta) May 15, 2017

“I prayed for of course the health of my family, my children, my grandchildren. I prayed for the president, and I wish him success especially in his upcoming trip,” he said. Trump will reportedly be arriving in Israel next week.

Friedman said that he said the shehecheyanu prayer at the wall, which marks special occasions and new experiences.

Friedman landed in Israel after a battle over his confirmation earlier this year.

A financial backer of the settlement movement who has publicly derogated the liberal Jewish group J Street — he later apologized for his remarks — Friedman was confirmed in the Senate on a vote of 52 to 46.

It was the most narrow vote for a U.S. Israel envoy in history.

Contact Naomi Zeveloff at zeveloff@forward.com or on Twitter @naomizeveloff

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