Earlier today, President Joe Biden hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House. "You’ve been a friend for a long time, a personal friend," Biden told Herzog. "And you know my commitment to Israel is ironclad and we share a deep friendship."
Later in the day, the Biden administration announced that the administration would continue to provide U.S. weapons shipments to Israel.
Prior to meeting with Biden, Herzog met with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who is President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the United Nations. Trump has also announced Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) will be his national security advisor. AIPAC endorsed both Stefanik and Waltz in the 2024 election cycle.
Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was also in D.C. and met yesterday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the situation in Gaza and Lebanon. Blinken "reaffirmed the United States' ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and Iran-backed proxy groups," according to a U.S. readout.
On Sunday, Dermer met with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago to brief him on Israel's plans in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, as well as the latest on Israel-Saudi normalization efforts.
Israel is a capable partner on the front lines against Iran and its terrorist proxies. The U.S.-Israel relationship benefits both countries and must continue to transcend partisan politics
Hezbollah kills two Israelis, hits kindergarten in continued rocket attacks
Today, two Israeli civilians — Ziv Belfer, 52, and Shimon Najm, 54 — were killed by a Hezbollah rocket in Nahariya.
Also today, a Hezbollah drone struck a kindergarten in Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city. Thankfully, the teacher rushed the children into a bomb shelter just in time, and no one was hurt.
"We had a miracle of miracles," Sarah Yasour, a teacher at the kindergarten, said. "Once we were in the shelter, we suddenly heard a huge noise and understood it must be close… Only when we went outside did we realize the scale of the miracle. It hit exactly where we had been."
Yesterday, at least seven people were wounded, including a toddler, when Hezbollah launched nearly 200 rockets at Israel.
Tell Congress: Oppose Efforts to Block Arms to Israel
In August, the Biden administration approved major arms sales to Israel. These weapons are essential for Israel to deter, defend against, and confront Iran and its proxies.
Bernie Sanders and his allies are moving to bring resolutions to the floor, possibly as soon as next week, to block these vital sales. These anti-Israel efforts must be defeated overwhelmingly.
I urge you to act now and call on your senators to reject the Sanders resolutions.
Click below to contact Senate offices today, and be on the lookout for Action Alerts this week.
U.S. strikes Iranian-backed proxies in Syria and Yemen
U.S. Central Command announced yesterday that it had conducted strikes against Iranian-backed terrorists in Syria who were responsible for attacks against American personnel over the past 24 hours.
The strikes were carried out against nine targets in two locations and "will degrade the Iranian-backed groups' ability to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces," CENTCOM said.
Over the weekend, U.S. forces carried out a series of strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi targets in Yemen, including weapons depots across at least three locations.
And earlier today, after the Houthis attacked another commercial ship traveling through the Red Sea, U.S. warships responded with additional strikes against the Iranian terror proxy in Yemen.
Video of the Day: Netanyahu's message to the Iranian people
Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message to the Iranian people — his second such message in recent weeks.
Netanyahu highlighted the billions of dollars that Iran spent on the October ballistic missile attack against Israel. "That sum could have added billions to your transportation budget. It could have added billions to your education budget," he said.
"Imagine how your children's lives would look if billions of dollars were invested in them instead of being wasted on wars that can’t be won," he added. "Israel has the world's most advanced desalination system and we’d be happy to help rebuild Iran's collapsing water infrastructure. These and so many other things are the things that you could have. But that's what Khamenei’s regime denies you every single day."
The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
AIPAC 251 H St. NW • Washington D.C. 20001 • TEL 202-639-5200
