Dear A.,

Israel this week launched a major two-week military drill simulating a multi-front war. 

The head of U.S. Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, arrived in Israel to observe the drill and reaffirm continued American support for the Jewish state. 

Kurilla joined IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi for a discussion on strengthening joint operational capabilities and coordination and met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss developments in the Middle East and receive a briefing on last month’s Operation Shield and Arrow.

This close cooperation — which is the result of decades of pro-Israel activism — is critically important as Iran continues its march toward nuclear weapons, demonstrating that America stands firmly with our ally Israel.

Below are more headlines from this week.
 

J Street undermines Democratic support for Israel and President Biden’s pro-Israel policies.

This week, J Street continued lobbying Democratic members of Congress to join an anti-Israel bill (H.R. 3103) that would add new conditions on security assistance to Israel. President Biden has called conditioning aid "absolutely outrageous."

17 J Street-endorsed members have joined with Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow in support of the bill.

J Street is many things, but it's not pro-Israel.

The Israeli Navy successfully tested the naval version of the Iron Dome system, called "C-Dome," a key step forward in enhancing Israel's multi-layered missile defense systems.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, "The C-Dome system constitutes a significant leap forward in our defense capabilities, and ensures the Israeli defense establishment’s superiority and operational capabilities in the face of growing threats in the maritime arena." 

On Monday, Iran announced it completed testing of a new hypersonic missile that can fly more than five times the speed of sound. Iran also recently unveiled a new ballistic missile capable of traveling over 2,000 kilometers, far enough to strike Israel directly.

On Monday, a Palestinian terrorist shot and killed an Israeli father of two. The victim, Meir Tamari, became the 20th person to die in a terror attack in Israel just this year. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’ anti-Israel policies are provoking renewed bloodshed and terrorism.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku this week, just weeks after Azerbaijan opened its embassy in Israel. The relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan is another important step forward in expanding the circle of peace.