U.S. Senate Unanimously Supports Israeli Self-Defense
Photo: U.S. Senate
The Unites States Senate voted 99-0 yesterday on a resolution which resolves to “support Israel if it were forced to defend itself from an Iranian nuclear threat.” The “Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013″ seeks to put tighter sanctions on Iran, in an effort to slow and/or disable its nuclear arms program, and to support the Jewish state in its necessary efforts of self-defense.
Comments (6) »WASHINGTON — AIPAC applauds the US Senate for unanimously pledging to stand by our Israeli ally should it take military action in its own legitimate defense against the nuclear threat from Iran. The Senate action on Resolution S. R. 65 comes at a critical moment as Iran stands on the verge of attaining nuclear weapons capability following repeated defiance of the international community.
Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 at 3:57 PM | Stand For Israel
Hagel: U.S. Can Support an Israeli Attack on Iran
Photo: Flickr/ New America Foundation
As we highlighted in yesterday’s SFI Daily Dispatch, on Tuesday of this week the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopted “Senate Resolution 65″, which states that the U.S. will assist Israel if it becomes necessary to take military action against Iran. “Assist”, in this sense, means that the U.S. will offer diplomatic, economic, and military support for the Jewish state to defend “its territory, people, and existence.”
It’s positive then, that U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel confirmed to the House subcommittee on defense appropriations that the U.S. indeed “has ‘the military capability’ to back any Israeli action against Iran should President Barack Obama decide to do so.”
Hagel also announced that he will visit Israel this coming weekend (April 21st). It will be his first visit to the Jewish state since his appointment as Defense Secretary, but a continuation of top-level U.S. officials who have visited Israel in 2013. President Barack Obama made the trip in mid-March, and Secretary of State John Kerry visited twice in late March and early April.
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Thursday, April 18th, 2013 at 3:49 PM | Stand For Israel
Israel Stands with the U.S.
In the letter below, Israel’s President Shimon Peres expresses his heartfelt condolences to President Barack Obama regarding the terrible attacks at Monday’s Boston Marathon. We are thankful that just as we stand for Israel, Israel stands with us.
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013 at 4:02 PM | Stand For Israel
Tragedy in Boston
Photo: Flickr/ hahatango
We know almost nothing about the specifics of the horrific bombings during yesterday’s Boston Marathon – and we’re unlikely to get any real answers until a suspect is identified and/or arrested. Our prayers, of course, are with those who were injured and killed and their loved ones.
What we do know – what is undeniable – is that the people of Boston will never be the same. No city that has experienced such a trauma remains unchanged. Some, like New York, changed for the better. In the Big Apple, residents came together, drew strength from one another, and demonstrated to the world a toughness and pride that impressed all Americans. And some changed negatively. Immediately after the Madrid bombings in 2004, the people of Spain voted out the incumbent government that had taken the country into the Iraq war – just as the terrorists in Madrid had demanded.
And then there are the people of Jerusalem. There has been far more terror in Jerusalem than anywhere else. Package bombs, time bombs, cell phone bombs, suicide bombers. Dozens of them killing hundreds of men, women, and children. Residents are vigilant. They have to go through security to do their grocery shopping. It’s a heightened sense of awareness that they wouldn’t wish on any other country.
Immediately after 9/11, there was a makeshift memorial outside the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem. Memorials candles, flags, and flowers dotted the sidewalk across the street from the heavily-fortified building. Now, Israelis thought, Americans would understand what it means to be under attack. Meanwhile, across the Arab and Muslim world, there were cheering crowds and celebrations.
Regardless of who the perpetrators turn out to be, Boston will not be the same. They’ve joined a tragic club of which Jerusalem is the senior member. And the people of Boston will find no more supportive sister city than the Holy City.
Comments (20) »Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 at 8:07 AM | Stand For Israel
How Israelis View Obama’s Visit
President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Israel Museum (photo: Ashernet)
President Obama was warmly received in Jerusalem this week as he made his first presidential visit to Israel. Although most Israelis were busy with Passover holiday preparations, they welcomed the President’s arrival and were glad that he finally made his way to the Holy Land.
Obama gave a heartwarming speech in Jerusalem, attesting to the Jewish people’s historic rights to the land, empathizing with their struggle to survive, and articulating the Arab world’s outright rejection of the Jewish State – thereby demonstrating that he understands the perils facing Israel. Nonetheless, Obama advocated that the only way to ensure Israel’s long-term survival and security would be for the Jewish State to continue to seek a peace accord with the Palestinians.
Obama’s message intended to sell his vision of the Middle East to the Israeli public: Israel and a Palestinian state existing side by side, with the Jewish State enjoying genuine and stable peace with her neighbors. The problem with that message is that Israelis have gone down this road before; we followed this dream not too long ago, believing that the end of the conflict was within our grasp. If only we reached out more, offered more, and conceded more to the Palestinians, the argument went, peace would be achieved.
However, until there is a fundamental change in the way the Palestinians and the Arab world at large view Israel and the Jewish people, there is no chance for lasting peace. Israelis have shown time and time again that they are willing to pay a heavy price in return for peace. The ball is in the hands of the Palestinian leadership and other Arab leaders to facilitate an environment of peace and reconciliation – but we all know that has never happened, and is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.
Obama’s visit, nonetheless, constitutes a warming in the relationship between the White House and the Netanyahu government,…
Read More » Comments (104) »Friday, March 22nd, 2013 at 4:55 PM | afarkas
Has Obama Reversed Cairo?
Photo: Ashernet
Jonathan Tobin, writing at Commentary, points out that President Obama remarks at the outset of his trip to Israel are very different than the speech he gave in Cairo only a few years ago. His speech unflinchingly recognized the deep, historic roots that Jews have in the Holy Land – giving a vastly different impression than he previously did of America’s relationship with Israel.
Comments (38) »His opening remarks upon arriving in Israel today effectively closed the gap between the two countries to the minimum. Even more important, his recognition of Israel’s rights effectively dashed the hopes of many in the Arab and Muslim world that this president, especially after his re-election, would further downgrade the alliance between the two nations.
Thursday, March 21st, 2013 at 2:17 PM | Stand For Israel
Imagining the Obama-Bibi Gabfest
Photo: Ashernet
Lee Smith, writing at Tablet, imagines what will be discussed at the private dinner between President Obama – currently on his first trip to Israel as President – and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and comes up with three major topics of conversation: Iran, the peace process with the Palestinians, and Syria. No surprises, but Smith’s take is always worth reading.
Comments (23) »Given that tonight features a dinner with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and five hours of talks with a man whose company Obama doesn’t much seem to relish, it’s no wonder the president might prefer, as he recently said, to “sit at a café and just hang out, wear a mustache, wander through Tel Aviv.” Instead, he’ll be in Jerusalem talking about Iran, Syria, and the Palestinians—three issues all at serious impasses.
Thursday, March 21st, 2013 at 1:49 PM | Stand For Israel
Obama in Israel, in Images
From President Obama’s speech on arriving in Israel:
President Peres, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and most of all, to the people of Israel, thank you for this incredibly warm welcome. This is my third visit to Israel so let me just say tov lihiyot shuv ba’aretz.
I’m so honored to be here as you prepare to celebrate the 65th anniversary of a free and independent State of Israel. Yet I know that in stepping foot on this land, I walk with you on the historic homeland of the Jewish people.
All photos credited to Ashernet.
Comments (2) »Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 at 9:57 PM | Stand For Israel
Americans Give Up on Middle East Peace
Michael J. Totten examines the results of a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll of American attitudes on the Middle East and comes to the conclusion that Americans get it: only 9% say they support the Palestinians over the Israelis with six times as many favoring Israel. And most don’t think the U.S. should push Israel to make a deal. Totten concludes:
Comments (26) »I’m pretty sure most recognize that peace talks are futile right now, so why should we take the blame when they fail again? There is nothing Barack Obama can do to make the two sides sign a deal. Not a thing. And it isn’t his fault. He might as well try to halt gravity.
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013 at 4:02 PM | Stand For Israel
The Ever-Vanishing Two-State Timeline
Photo: Amos Ben Gershom GPO
Jonathan Tobin, writing at Commentary, says that Secretary of State John Kerry’s renewed push for peace negotiations – undertaken at a time when the two sides have never been farther apart and after the resignation of the one person (former Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad) that Israelis somewhat trusted – is actually counterproductive.
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