Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch is traveling to Israel on Friday to promote the Hoosier state and its many ties to the Jewish state.
The Republican will be part of a delegation of six GOP lieutenant governors who will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll and Tourism Minister, among others. Yoel Razvozov.
The trip will also include stops at Israeli defense installations and agricultural areas. Crouch’s duties as lieutenant governor include serving as Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture.
“This trade mission presents a tremendous opportunity to further develop relationships with industry leaders in technology, agriculture and manufacturing in the Middle East,” Crouch said.
“Indiana and our nation have strong ties to Israel, and I am delighted to meet with Israeli leaders and further develop our relationship.”
Crouch was invited to visit Israel by the curator State Government Leadership Foundationwhich also covers travel expenses.
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The foundation said sending the lieutenant governors to Israel is a reminder that “the partnership between the United States and Israel is one of the strongest in the world.”
The other lieutenant governors on the delegation are: Jeanette Nuñez of Florida, Adam Gregg of Iowa, Mike Foley of Nebraska, Pamela Evette of South Carolina and Deidre Henderson of Utah.
Crouch’s trip to Israel comes about 10 months after Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb made a surprise visit to Israel just days after the end of 11 days of fighting that killed more than 200 people, mostly civilians. Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
Holcomb was the first US governor to visit Israel in 2021. It was also his first trip abroad since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Crouch is scheduled to return to Hoosier State on March 23.
Gallery: Maple Sugar Time Returns to Indiana Dunes National Park
Maple sugar time is back
Indiana Dunes National Park volunteer Marisa Rempala shows off the equipment used to make maple cream.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Metal buckets and a cart at the Chellberg Farm barn show some of the equipment used by the family.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Zella Olson has been a volunteer at Maple Sugar Time at Indiana Dunes National Park since the festival began 40 years ago.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Cooking on a wood stove requires hot coals like these, pictured with one burner removed.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Volunteer Mark McColley tests boiled sap to create maple syrup during maple sugaring time at the Chellberg Farm in Indiana’s Dunes National Park. Sap is 98% water.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Steam rises as coals are dumped into the water outside the Chellberg Farm sugar shack.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Metal buckets made it easy to collect and transport maple sap and other liquids to the Chellberg farm.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Native Americans harvested sap from maple trees in a mukak, like this one kept by Indiana Dunes National Park ranger Steve Rodriguez.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Indiana Dunes National Park volunteer John Roquet shovels ash from the Chellberg Farm sugar shack as Saturday’s maple syrup production wraps up.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Pioneers used three kettles to make maple syrup, boiling the sap to release steam while the sap was distilled into maple syrup.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Animal skins like these were used for warmth by Native Americans in the area.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Cliff Goins refers to the Chellberg family’s accounting of maple syrup production in 1947, written in pencil on a chalkboard at the sugar shack in Indiana’s Dunes National Park. The family produced 154 pints that year.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
The woodstove at the Chellberg Farm is much more sophisticated than many stoves used when the Chellbergs lived there.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
A one-gallon hanging jug hangs steaming above the evaporator trays used to make maple syrup at the Chellberg Farm Sugar Shack.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Visitors to the Chellberg Farm Sugar Shack see how maple syrup is made, with steam rising from the evaporator pans to concentrate the sap into syrup.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Maple coffee stays hot in a vat of sap at the Chellberg Farm sugar shack. The coffee is made with maple sap instead of water to give it a mild maple flavor.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Native Americans boiled the sap to create maple sugar, which they used for a burst of energy at the end of a long winter.
Doug Ross, The Times
Maple sugar time is back
Cliff Goins, a retired Indiana Dunes National Park ranger who helps out at Maple Sugar Time as a volunteer, pours himself a cup of sugary coffee at Chellberg’s sugar shack. Coffee is made with maple sap instead of water.
Doug Ross, The Times
