On April 7^th 2009, Mr. Al Zaeem met Congressmen Bob Inglis and Stephen F. Lynch who expressed shock upon seeing the complete destruction of the American School, as well as the devastation across various areas of Gaza City and North Gaza, that resulted from Israeli air strikes during Operation Cast Lead. They discussed the post war situation and the effect of the closure on the daily life of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The Congressmen promised to do their best to arrange for generous US funding to be allocated to the reconstruction of the school, as well as expressing the importance to President Obama of conducting a Presidential visit to the Gaza Strip so that he can assess the situation personally.