SENATOR JON KYL
(R) Arizona

"In a world where most international relationships are forged for tactical reasons, the United States and Israel enjoy a true friendship. The reason is not hard to find; Israel, like the United States, represents something that our enemies cannot tolerate: a thriving democracy which, in Israel’s case, is right in their midst."

Jon Kyl was elected to the U.S. Senate from Arizona in 1994 and re-elected in 2000, after having served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He serves on the Senate’s Finance Committee, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, and on the Judiciary Committee, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security.  As chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, he is one of six members of the Senate Republican Leadership. 

Before his public service, Kyl practiced law at Jennings, Strouss & Salmon in Phoenix. In 1985 he served as chairman of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. Born in Oakland, Nebraska, Kyl received both his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Arizona. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was editor-in-chief of the Arizona Law Review.

He and his wife Caryll have two children, Kristine Kyl Gavin and John Kyl, and four grandchildren.