World Bulletin / News Desk

The chairman of the Joint Arab List party in Israel will hold groundbreaking talks during a U.S. visit with senior White House and State Department officials according to a report in Haaretz.

Knesset member Ayman Odeh, who begins his visit Monday night (tonight), will be the first prominent representative of Israel’s Arab community to engage in high-profile diplomatic talks in Washington, D.C., according to Ynet.

 Odeh will also attend an event in his honor hosted by American Jewish billionaire S. Daniel Abraham , the founder of the Center for Middle East Peace in Washington, D.C.  Odeh will also speak with various media outlets such as The New York Times and the Washington Post, and is also scheduled to meet with civil rights leaders at the Atlanta church of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

“The issues that matter to Israel’s Arab citizens are hardly represented in the international conversation,” Odeh told Ynet. “I’m going to the U.S. to bring that voice with me to influencing sources and opinion leaders, and to create contacts and connections with the progressive and civil rights movements.”